Scabior and Hermione
by vixevilcat7
Summary: Well, not sure what to say about this one. It's again Scabior and Hermione. Thought i'd try my hand at a tom riddle is Hermione's dad fic. We'll see if my muse helps me with this one. If so, i'll keep writing. If not, i'll probably remove it. Happy reading!
1. Chapter 1

Scabior and Hermione

Really not sure about this story yet. I really have no plot to speak of, just an idea that has already been done before in other fics.

The Snatchers had just caught the 'Golden Trio.' Scabior was interested in the girl. Very interested. Like wanting to keep her held right against him interested. The girl was clearly frightened, even more so when she saw that Fenrir, himself, was a member of the Snatchers. Fenrir knew he was gonna have a hell of a time getting her back to the Dark Lord untouched.

Ever since Fenrir had known him, the Dark Lord had wanted power, glory and everlasting life. Lately, though, he'd changed. He seemed to realize that, no matter what he did, somehow he couldn't seem to beat the Boy Who Lived. He'd tried to kill him as an infant. Zip. He'd tried to have him killed, the boy's first year of school. Zilch. His own memory had tried to kill the boy. Nada. After he finally managed to get a body, he'd tried to kill the boy. Nope.

Then afterwards, he'd thrown a hell of a fit, cursing his followers left and right. Fen hadn't been there at that time, he was serving time in Azkaban. But Lucius had been there and he'd filled Fen in everything he could remember from that night. The Dark Lord had received a letter from a very old looking owl. It looked like it had been there a very long time. All Lucius knew was that, after he read that letter, he began quizzing Lucius about Harry Potter and his Muggleborn friend Hermione Granger.

After learning she was top of her class, even beating out Draco, a fact that Lucius very begrudgingly acknowledged, he quickly deduced that she was a large part of how he kept losing to a child. He didn't seem so worried about Potter anymore, he seemed more inclined to capture the girl now. He had, in fact, decided he was actually tired of trying to beat Potter and was actually interested in a truce. Now, getting Potter and the rest of the Wizarding world to accept the truce, ah, that was a different story. Somehow, though, he had taken the notion that the girl was the key. If he could show the girl he was interested in a truce, she would lead the rest of them to the table. Thus, the reason why they were now in the middle of the forest of Dean, with three teenagers who were fighting them every step. He recalled the conversation that had led to this situation.

"Fenrir, my old friend, how are you? How goes it with your pack?" Lord Voldemort asked him.

"They're thriving, some better than others. I'm about to weed out some bad seeds but they are strong, for the most part." He shrugged, watching his boys.

"It looks like you have some new members, for instance, the boy there, in the black pants, I don't recall seeing him before." Voldemort wondered.

"That's Scabior. I've only begun to let him off the leash. He's one of my wizard born children, he was bitten when he was seven, he wandered a little too far from his family and was bitten, his family killed the wolf who bit him but it was too late for the boy. They abandoned him, in the middle of nowhere. My scouts found him and brought him to me. He's been my boy since then. He's a feisty one, mouthy as hell, impulsive, headstrong, but when that boy catches a scent, he stays on it till he finds the source. I kept him secluded with the pack until now. I figured it was time to start socializing the boy, admittedly,I may have kept him under lock and key a little too long. He's loving his freedom, though, even with the restrictions I still have on him." Fen declared, proud of his youngest human pup.

"What would you say to a hunting trip? Take your young hunter there and find a special someone for me?" Voldemort inquired.

"Depends. Are you wanting them dead or alive? I can guarantee you dead but alive depends on whether your prey provokes the boy's temper." Fen warned.

"Most definitely alive." He picked up three flyers. Undesirables one, two, and three stared back at him. He handed him the middle one. "That is your target. If the other two are caught as well, so be it. If not, I want you to bring me the girl. The ginger I could care less for, Potter I suppose I should keep alive for the truce but the girl is your PRIMARY target." Voldemort started to turn away, but then he turned and said. "I know I don't have to say this but I need to say it: the girl had better be untouched and pure when she arrives here. If she's not, I'll have to start cutting body parts of your boy. Scabior."

Fenrir winced as he remembered that conversation. Now he bloody well had the job of keeping an eye on the girl to make sure his boy Scabior wasn't getting too fresh with her. Once more, he wondered what had caused the sudden interest in the girl. At that moment, he heard an angry squeal from the girl.

"Seriously, why do you have to have me right against you? Have you no idea about personal boundaries?! Get off me and quit touching me, oh my gods!" he turned in time to see her shove Scabior away enough to keep him in the shin. Scabior yelped in pain and snarled angrily at her.

"Ok, ok, break it up, you two, break it up!" he shoved the ginger at Scabior and took the girl. She looked up at him and visibly gulped in fear. "No worries, now, missy, we'll be there soon and all will be well."

"Where are we going?" asked Potter. Fen looked at him, steadily. "Please, sir, where are we going?" Harry tried again.

"Never you mind, Potter, nothing's going to happen to you, so rest easy." Fen told him. Harry wondered why they were being so nice to them. As he walked, he noticed that everyone of the Snatchers were giving Hermione a wide berth, occasionally going out of their way to stay out of touching range, except for Scabior. He seemed to be the only one who ever laid hands on her, or did until Greyback swapped with him and took her. Now he had two wolves to protect her from. Scabior and Greyback. It was hard to, though, when he was even further away than Ron. He wished he knew where they were going.

Pretty soon, they came to a valley. At the end of it sat a huge house. They had almost reached Malfoy Manor. As they started up the trail to the gate, Greyback reached over and took Ron back. Scabior looked at him as he gently pushed Hermione back into his arms.

"You're the one the Dark Lord wanted to see bringing her in, boy. Just don't get fresh with her in front of him and you might make it out with your bollocks still intact." Fen smiled as Scabior's eyes widened. Hermione hissed angrily as the boy flung his arm around her and pulled her flush against him again.

They went through the gate and the doors were opened for them. They pulled the trio up the stairs and into the drawing room. Voldemort was there, along with Lucius, Narcissa, Bellatrix, Draco, the LeStrange brothers and Dolohov. Harry gulped visibly at the sight of Voldemort. Greyback, Scabior and the Snatcher holding Harry went forward. The rest filed in and formed a line beside the far wall. The three knelt, forcing their captives down, too.

"Rise, my friends, let me see them." Voldemort glided forward. He barely glanced at Ron but paused by Harry, "The war is over, I am tired, Harry Potter, do not attack me and I will not be forced to kill you."

Harry's eyes widened, 'the war was over?' "The Death Eaters are still attacking people , you call that over?"

"No, I call that retaliation. Your Order of the Phoenix and the Ministry keep killing innocent people for no more than a connection to me or one of my followers, do you honestly think we're going to sit back and allow it?" Voldemort hissed angrily at him. "My people have not instigated an attack on any of your people for a while now, nor any Muggles, or even Muggleborns. Can your side say the same?"

Harry opened his mouth to answer but he couldn't. He honestly didn't know. He'd been on the run with Ron and Hermione for a while now. He hadn't kept up with the news except for the wireless which was more static than anything. "No, sir, I can't. I don't know what's been going on lately."

"Rest assured, Harry Potter, this war is over. I simply want to come to an understanding and sign a peace treaty with the Ministry and also the Order of the Phoenix. I have a copy for my side already drafted, now I just need someone to draft a copy for the other side. Perhaps, Miss Granger?" he walked slowly toward her. Her eyes grew bigger as he walked closer. He stopped less than an arms length away. For all that she'd been struggling away from Scabior, now confronted by Voldemort, she was suddenly cowering into his arms.

"Miss Granger, how lovely to see you. I hope they didn't treat you too badly? I need your help with a small matter. A peace treaty. Come, child, sit. Nobody will harm you or your friends." He held out a hand and she gingerly took it. Glancing at Harry, she raised a brow in Voldemort's direction. Harry shrugged, he wasn't sure what was going on either. All he knew was, they were in Death Eater central and not a one of them had so much as offered to attack the Trio.


	2. Lucius

Lucius

Lucius Malfoy had to admit, there wasn't very much that could surprise or scare him, other than the Dark Lord's fury. There was something going on here. Potter had just gotten away. His Lord was sending Crucio's in every direction, screaming in fury. Suddenly, an owl swooped down and landed on the ground in front of the Dark Lord. It looked like an old owl. It seemed like it had been here a while. Lucius looked closer, it actually looked like a school owl that Draco used ever so often when his own owl was unavailable. 'Why would a Hogwarts owl be sitting here, of all places?' There was a note tied to its leg. The Dark Lord looked down in surprise. He took the note and stood there, reading it. He looked weary as he backed up and sat against the tombstone of his father. He was staring into space. Then he read the note, once again. He held it against his face, almost as if he were sniffing it. The he rubbed a hand across his head. He seemed to be in some turmoil. Once again, he looked down and appeared to read the note, again. Then he said, "Come, let us retire to the house. It's been in disrepair for a long time."

At this, Lucius stepped forward. "My lord, if it pleases you, we can retire to Malfoy Manor. Narcissa can easily have a suite made ready for you tonight. It would be a great honor to have you stay with us." He waited. The Dark Lord came to a decision. He didn't want to sleep in his father's old house. He would take the generous offer and tomorrow would be soon enough to discuss the contents of the note he still held in his hand. Tomorrow would be better anyway because Snape would be there.

The next day, he and Lucius were in the drawing room when Snape was finally able to escape from Hogwarts and join them. Voldemort stood looking out the window, deep in thought, as he motioned Lucius to fill Snape in on the situation.

"Last night, our master managed to return, obviously. Harry Potter was, somehow, able to escape. That's not what this is about, however. He received a letter last night. From a Hogwarts owl who looked like he'd been living in that graveyard for quite a very long while. Rather than trying to make do in his father's old house, I have arranged for him to stay here, however long he wants and needs to." Lucius spun in his chair to face Voldemort. The Dark Lord turned and looked at them. "Years ago, before the first war, while I was still in the planning stages of a political revolution, I used to go to the Muggle world and unwind. There was a particular bar I always frequented while there. It was located across from a hostel where I kept a room on reserve. One year, I met a young Muggle woman who was having a few problems of her own. She had a cheating husband and had just lost her third child to a miscarriage. She was in the mood to totally forget her problems, just one night, she wanted nothing more than to be a simple carefree young woman again. I gave her that one simple carefree night and it was, surprisingly, wonderful. I left her there at my hostel, the next day, she said it was fun, but now she needed to get back to real life. So I gave her a slip of paper with my name and address on it. I told her, if she ever needed anything, anything at all, to write me and I would come to her." Lucius and Snape were sitting there, open mouthed in shock.

Just then, Narcissa came to the door. "It's time to go pick up Draco from King's Cross, Lucius." She looked up and gasped at seeing the Dark Lord, realizing she'd just barged into a private meeting. "Forgive me, my Lord."

"Narcissa, dear, please join us. This situation I find myself in might require a woman's touch." Voldemort motioned her on in. Lucius quickly filled her in on the situation. "I received a letter from her. It was dated ten years ago. She needed my help. I was, as you know, unavailable. It seems her husband found out about our night of revelry and threatened to take their child and leave her. She had to promise him she would never do anything of the sort ever again. If she did, she would automatically forfeit the rights to their daughter. The thing is, though, the girl isn't HIS child. Her mother enclosed a fairly recent picture of the girl. She is my daughter and I believe all of you know her." He pulled a picture out of the pocket of his robe. He laid it on the desk, face up. Both Malfoys and Snape looked at the photo and gasped. The girl pictured was none other than the Gryffindor Princess, resident know it all, Hermione Granger.

"I very much want to get in touch with her but not like this. I want her to be able to see how alike we are. I have decided I no longer wish to kill or even fight Harry Potter. The war is officially over, for me, as of right now. I would seriously, though, like to get back into politics. Our world still needs a great many reforms. I know the child would be a great help to me. She will help change our world. But I have to figure out something I know she'll be interested in before I make contact with her." Lucius was busily writing down everything he was saying. Snape was planning to make a special schedule for Miss Granger. As the Dark Lord's daughter, she would need to be exceptional in everything. Her defense training would need to step up. She would also need to be a trained Occlumens, for that she would need him and Lucius. Narcissa was already over the moon, planning a shopping trip to fully outfit her as befitting the Dark Lord's daughter.

"I need to send her a present but she can't know it's from me or she won't accept it." Voldemort thought for a moment. "It needs to be something she'll use every day, something she wouldn't think twice about accepting."

"Draco has mentioned that she uses quite a bit of ink and seems to go through quite a few quills in a week's time. Maybe a couple bottles of ink and a set of quills?" Lucius wondered.

"The girl also goes above and beyond on her homework, it's almost always a couple of inches longer that the assignment calls for. Maybe a steady supply of parchment?" Snape suggested.

"Yes, excellent. I'll keep the girl supplied with those three necessities and I also want to give her this." He held out a bracelet. It looked like just a regular old necklace, until you realized the 'leather' was actually braided hair. "I was wearing this the night I met her mother. I wish her to have it. I want it left somewhere for her to find. There's a spell on it that will draw her to wear it. It will protect her. I may not want a war anymore but that doesn't mean it's going to be that easy to retire from being Lord Voldemort, the Dark Lord. From here on, I wish to be known by my given name once again, Tom Marvolo Riddle, Jr."

"From here on, no more attacks on Muggles, Muggleborns, or even blood traitors. That doesn't mean we let them push us around or walk all over us. If they attack us first, we WILL retaliate! We are, once again, a political group, not a terrorist group, yes?" his followers cheerfully agreed.

Lucius set to work, putting the necessary supplies on order for Hermione, making sure to order only a week's supply each time, any more than that and the girl would be suspicious. Since it was the girls own regular shop he was ordering from, he simply worded the order in such a way to have her believe the shop owners were merely showing their appreciation of her business, by keeping her a steady supply on order. Snape sent the girl a carefully worded letter to make it appear that Dumbledore had decided to train her alongside Potter. He would need to make a report in such a way that Dumbledore would believe himself to actually be the one who came up with that idea. Dumbledore would have Potter, Snape would have Hermione. Narcissa pouted when told the wardrobe would have to wait a while. But she was allowed to send the girl a scarf of pink merino wool, charmed to be stay warm or stay cool, depending on the season.

Tom Marvolo Riddle set out to destroy the horcruxes which had kept him alive for so long. The only horcux he kept, only because he loved her so much, was his familiar, a large serpent named Nagini. He started telling Nagini about his daughter. Nagini was anxious to meet 'sister.' Tom wondered how much of a shock it would be when Granger found out she wasn't a Granger, but in fact, a Riddle and had a serpent for a sister.

He cautioned Nagini that 'sister' might be afraid of her for a while. Most people were very afraid of Nagini. But she wasn't to let it bother her. It would just take 'sister' a while to adjust to having Nagini around.

Nagini went to sleep in her favorite sun spot, happy that someday soon 'sister' would be joining them.


	3. Fenrir, Bella and Dolohov

It was a wild and stormy night on the small island occupied by Azkaban prison. Then again, it ALWAYS seemed to be wild and stormy. Inside the screams of insanity were ringing throughout the prison. Any little bit of happiness shown by the inmates was immediately sucked right back out by the Dementors.

It was Bellatrix LeStrange who first noticed that her Dark Mark had reawakened. She laughed crazily as she licked the Mark. She knew her master wouldn't leave them in here for long now. Around her, Dolohov and the LeStrange brothers were looking at their Dark Marks, also.

"He's back, Bella! He's back! He'll be here soon." Screamed Dolohov.

Fenrir Greyback, imprisoned for biting too many children to add to his pack, silently listened to them. He was simply waiting out the remainder of his sentence. A few more weeks and he'd be out of here and able to rejoin his pack. He was not really interested until he heard a familiar name. "Voldemort? You're waiting for Voldemort? Thought he was dead. Killed after trying to kill the Potter brat."

"Our marks have just awakened. He's back, Fenrir, he'll be here to free us, you'll see. We'll make sure he takes you as well, dear." Bellatrix told him.

Fenrir didn't dispute the matter. It didn't pay to argue with Bellatrix, she was mad as a hatter and would argue with a tree stump. He just closed his eyes, leaned his head back and thought quiet thoughts about nothing. He had quickly learned to keep his happy thoughts tucked away or have them sucked out.

He needed to get back to the pack. He had young pups who needed to know how to survive in the outside world. He wondered how his youngest human pup was faring. He was one of the few bitten by a wolf other than Greyback. That wolf had been a loner and had no pack. He'd bitten the boy just for the sake of killing. The humans had taken great pleasure in killing him. Unfortunately, they hadn't felt enough compassion to care for a seven year old child, bitten and almost killed. His scouts had heard the screams, the fight and the abandonment of the child. They had picked him up, confirmed the other wolf was dead and brought the child to Greyback. The boy, in shock and close to death, was only able to give him one name, Scabior. Fenrir was never able to confirm whether it was the first, last or only name the child had ever known.

Bella thought of all the things she wanted to do as soon as she was freed. First on her list was a nice, long, hot soak in the biggest tub she could find. Maybe she would go to one of those Muggle spas she was always hearing about. They actually covered a person in mud and, supposedly, it helped keep the skin soft and smooth! Ha! Fancy that! Seeing as how it was her own sister, Narcissa, who had heard about them through their other sister, Andromeda, this might be something worth checking into. She did so love having baby soft skin!  
The next thing she was going to do was let Narcissa take her shopping. Of course, she had absolutely no interest in going shopping but it was one of her sister's favorite things to do. If letting herself be pulled into a blue dozen shops, trying on god only knows how many dresses, would make Cissy happy, so be it. All she was worried about was spending time with her little sister.

The last thing on her list was the most worrisome. The LeStranges homes were all confiscated and auctioned off after they went to Azkaban. If they were ever released, they would basically be homeless. Maybe Cissy would talk to Lucius and they could stay there until they had a home of their own again.

Antonin Dolohov hated Azkaban! Of course, he knew he'd done wrong and needed punishment. He'd thought they would send him home to Russia for his punishment, though. At least there, he would be close to his family. Now, it was too late. He'd been informed, by a lawyer about two years ago, that his wife and children had been killed. While shopping in their local wizarding village, they had been caught in a crossfire between Death Eaters and Russian Aurors. He felt like he had nothing left to lose and so he allowed the insanity around him to draw him into its depths. He dredged up old memories every night of his family and friends back home, just so the Dementors would have an excuse to hover around his cell.

Dolohov had joined the Death Eaters on a whim. They had first been a political group with very sound goals. When it had changed over to all violence against anyone opposing Lord Voldemort, he wasn't sure but before long, he found himself in the middle of a fight he wasn't sure he even wanted to be involved in. Soon after that, he'd found himself in life or death struggles where it was kill or be killed. He might be on the wrong side of the fight but damned if he was just going to sit there and let someone try and kill him without fighting back, no sir, not him! That's how he came to be known as a murderer. It wasn't that he wanted to kill, he had to kill, in order to survive.

One night soon after the Marks came back, there was a huge boom. Bella screamed with laughter as the whole side of Azkaban fell into the ocean. She, Dolohov, her husband and brother in law as well as Fenrir Greyback, as promised, were freed from Azkaban.

They Apparated to the mainland. "Greyback, when you get through checking on your pack, come to Malfoy Manor and meet our master, he might have a few jobs for you." Bella told the werewolf. He dipped his head and disappeared without a word. 'That was Fenrir for you' she thought. 'Never had too much to say, that wolf'. She shrugged it off and clasping hands with Rodolphus, Rabastan, and Dolohov, she Apparated to the Malfoys Manor and sent a Patronus to her sister.

A few minutes later, they were inside and being shown to guest rooms. They were told to report to the drawing room as the Dark Lord had some interesting news to tell them. Dolohov was the first to make it back down. He showered, threw on some clean clothes and came down to casually lean against the wall to the right of Voldemort. The LeStrange brothers were next. Bella was the last one down, due to the fact that she had to almost be dragged out of the shower by Cissa.

"Cissy, I'm not done yet!" Bella whined.

"I promise you, this will be worth hearing, afterwards you can come back, run the tub full and stay the night if that's what you want. Then tomorrow, we hit the shops!" Cissy, happy to have her sister back, squealed with joy.

Bella, unable to resist the excitement in her voice, hurriedly dressed and followed her downstairs. They walked in and all sat down in a circle around him. "Was there not anther with you? Where is he?" inquired Voldemort.

"Master, he had to go home and check the status of his pack. It's been a while since they've seen him. I told him to return soon as you might have some jobs for him." Bella reported. Voldemort nodded. 'A werewolf? Maybe Fenrir?' "Was his name Fenrir Greyback?" he asked. Bella nodded. 'Yes, Fen would be a good ally. The wolf pack was strong. He knew Fen had a thing for biting children young to raise them properly as his mate was unable to bear children. Possibly he had a suitable son who might be the perfect mating age to match up with his daughter.' Chuckling at the thought of matching her up to be married before he ever met her, he turned his thoughts and attention to the group before him. He decided to just spring it on them all at once. "First of all, I am a halfblood. My father was a Muggle. Second, I am no longer interested in fighting. Therefore, as far as I'm concerned, the war ended three months ago. I wish to reenter the world of politics. Third, we are once more on a political revolution, not a physical war. Fourth, and this might be the biggest shock to you, I have a daughter. I need to change some things before I contact her but you need to know, she is the best friend of Harry Potter. You would know her as Hermione Granger. If you encounter her, she is NOT to be harmed in any way, shape or form. Am I understood?" they all nodded, in shock as he said. "Good, this meeting is adjourned for now. Whenever Greyback gets here, bring him directly to me."

Fenrir Greyback walked into his camp. All the wolves stood at attention. He smiled, at least they still remembered who their Alpha was. He snapped his fingers and his Beta came running.

"Alpha, it's good to see you home, we've missed you." He and Fenrir began strolling towards Fen's house. "Alpha, there is something very important that I need to tell you, sir, before you go home. Your mate has been trying to establish another wolf as Alpha. He's there now, with her. He has been beating the younger pups for not referring to him as alpha, especially the young human pup we brought you. He has almost beaten him to death a time or two. Your mate stands by, sir, and lets him do it."

Fen drew a deep, angry breath. As he walked by a small fire, the young woman sitting there, looked up and climbed to her feet. "Alpha," she lowered her head in respect. She was an attractive young wolf that he had noticed before. As he passed her, her scent told him she was not only unmated but also untouched. He smiled over his anger. That might change shortly. He motioned his Beta to remain outside. He walked through the door and saw his mate and the other wolf, standing there, defiantly. "Get your belongings and get out. You are no longer my mate." She gasped. "You can't do that. I should be the one who stays." He stepped closer. "One last chance to do this without him dying. We were never officially 'married'. Get off your high horse. This is MY house, MY pack, MY territory. I'm giving you a fair chance here. I could easily rip his guts out and throw him outside to be devoured by the rest of the pack. Are you leaving peacefully or are you both dying, right here, right now?" the male wolf grabbed her arm and pulled her away. He was interested in being Alpha but not enough to take on THIS particular Alpha. He'd heard stories in his old pack about Fenrir Greyback. They gathered all her belongings and his few belongings and left, glad to be walking away in one piece.

Fen rubbed his hands over his face and went to shower. He thought of the young female outside. He couldn't remember her name but she had come to them from another pack, her and her parents. After his shower, he was getting dressed. He heard a knock. It was his Beta, telling him they were having a feast to honor his return. He pulled his hair back tightly bound into a ponytail and followed the trail back to the square where his people were gathered. He noticed the female was there, along with his pup, Scabior. He walked over to talk to the boy. The teen stood straight up and tensed as Fen drew close. "Hey, pup, I hear you've had a rough time of it here lately?"

"No, I haven't. He didn't hurt me. I'm tougher than I look." The teen tilted his chin stubbornly. The black eyes and bruised face told a different story as did the handprints that stood out against the fair skin of his throat. Fen felt like chasing the male down, beating the hell out of him and then throwing him to the rest of the pack for choking this boy down. He reached out, pulled the boy to him and ruffled his hair with his knuckles until the boy was laughing. The teen squirmed to get away and walked over to his brothers, once freed. The wizard born werewolves began playing musical instruments.

"How did you get Scabior to talk to you, boy never talks to anyone. He'll barely talk to me." Fen was curious about the relationship between them.

"Scabior is like my little brother. We got here, my parents and I, shortly before you left. Soon after that was when that other wolf came around. At first he was checking out all the females. I think there for a while he was planning on kidnapping some of us. Then he met her and they began talking about merging the packs. He tried to establish dominance over the pups but Scabior wasn't having any of it. The first time he beat Scabior, I took him home with me so mum could heal him. After he began beating him on a regular basis, Scabior started staying with me and my parents. We've practically grown up together."

"He's a feisty one. I hoped he would still be here when I got back. It wouldn't have been the first time a human pup left while I was gone," said Fen, thinking of Remus Lupin.

"Um, he might flinch around you for a while. Please don't be mad at him for doing that. It's just, it'll take him a while to get used to having a male around who isn't going to beat him over every little thing. I think sometimes that male would beat him just for walking into the room too quickly." She looked at him shyly. "My name is Mary, by the way. Believe me, I do love Scabior but only as a pesky little brother," she laughed.

Fen laughed with her. She'd seen right through him. "Would you like to dance, Mary? And, please, call me Fen."

"I'd love to, Fen" Mary said, testing the name out. They walked out to join the rest of the dancers. Scabior watched the man warily. He remembered him from before, but the man had only been here two years before he left. 'Why had he left? Oh, right, prison. For? Biting too many kids? He hadn't bitten him, though, had he?' Scabior had only vague memories of his attack but he was sure the one who bit him had been killed. That couldn't have been Fenrir, then. He knew Fenrir had taken care of him. He thought he remembered him saying Scabior could call him dad. He'd told Scabior to grow up strong and smart and he might be Alpha one day. He'd have to keep an eye on him and sister wolf, she was still very naïve.

Fenrir spotted him and nudged Mary. "Looks like a little brother is keeping an eye on his sister and the big, bad wolf." He chuckled. Mary giggled, waving at Scabior. He smiled and waved back.

As the feast ended, the families began gathering up sleepy children and heading home. Scabior headed for them. "Time to go, sis." He looked at Mary. He was carefully avoiding eye contact with the older male.

"Scabior, he isn't going to hurt you, you know that, right? This is Fen, your dad, the Alpha. He's not going to let anything happen to our pack. He wants to get to know you again." Mary felt the fear rolling off her 'little brother'. It'd been a while since he'd felt safe enough to let his guard down.

"How about tomorrow night, you and Scabior and your parents come join me for dinner?" Fen knew what this invitation would mean to the rest of the pack. Scabior was his son but inviting Mary and her parents to dinner was tantamount to announcing who the new Alpha female would be.

Mary gazed at him, wide eyed a moment. "Are you sure about that?" she smiled softly.

"I'm positive about it." He smiled charmingly. They shared a small smile. Now, to get little brother used to the idea.


	4. Full Circle

Fenrir, Mary and Scabior

Training, courting and explaining. Fen trains Scabior and courts Mary. Scabior has his past explained. They are given an important assignment.

Fenrir (POV)

It had taken a couple of months of daily training sessions, several hunting trips and his courtship of Mary, but finally he had managed to break through Scabior's defensive walls. The boy finally trusted him again. He'd known before he left that he was the only one the boy had trusted and he was angry with himself for a while after coming back. He should have made sure there were others besides himself for the boy to depend on. He just hadn't counted on the wizards keeping him in custody as long as they had. If not for the breakout, he'd still be waiting for a release date and the boy would still be getting the hell beat out of him on a daily basis.

The day Scabior managed to pin him three times during a training session was the day he declared him fully trained. That's when he told Scabior he would be allowed to start going to the outside world with him. Until now, Fenrir had kept the boy in the wild, with the pack.

"If I'm a wizard, why haven't I already been going to the outside world, Fen?" Scabior was confused. 'Was he a wolf or a wizard?'

"You are a wizard, but they wouldn't look at you like one. All they would see is someone who turns into a 'monster' for one week of every month." Fen told him sadly.

"Is that why I don't have a wand, either? Mary and her mum and dad have wands. Some of the others have wands, too." Scabior asked.

"Yeah, that's why you don't have a wand. I never sent you to school, that was SUPPOSED to be Cassie's job, your magical training. When we first got you, you were too young for a wand. When I left, you were still too young. On your tenth birthday, you should have gotten a Hogwarts letter, did you?" Fen was curious. 'Had the boy gotten a letter?'

"Yeah, but she burned it. For a while there was a letter every day, I don't know who they were from. She was mad at you for having to go away. I thought they were from you and she just didn't want to hear from you. There was an old man who came to see her, I heard them talking about me. That was after HE showed up. HE told Cassie I wasn't to leave the camp, ever. HE told the old man to clear the hell out or be shredded." Fen grunted, it was the only thing the interloper had done right. He just wished it had been himself here to chase Dumbledore away.

"Why was he talking about me, Fen?" Scabior was still confused.

"Because, if you hadn't been bitten at age seven, son, you would have gone to Hogwarts. Your wizarding parents would have sent you there. But, as you weren't raised by wizards, Cassie was SUPPOSED to do your magical training. She didn't?" Fen was sure the interloper was responsible.

"HE wouldn't let her. HE told her I didn't need any kind of training. That, sure as I was trained, l'd turn on the pack and lead the humans here to kill everyone. HE didn't like me because I can only transform at the full moon." Scabior hated being different from the rest of the pack. "You are my son. Just because I'm not your blood father doesn't change that one bit. I took you in after your real family rejected you, I took care of you. What HE said doesn't matter one bit. The only thing HE did right was running Albus Dumbledore out of our camp. I'll be damned if I would have let a crackpot like that be in charge of your schooling. The magic I've taught you over the past couple of months is the magic that will keep you alive."

He'd been teaching the boy wandless magic, in addition to his fighting skills. "These are your primary weapons, boy." He held Scabior's hands up, then pointed at his teeth. "Those are your secondary weapons. If you are EVER fighting another wizard, boy, and he pins you, lunge towards him with those teeth. If he thinks he's about to be bit, he'll get the hell away in a flash." He patted the boy on the head. "When we go to London next week, we'll go to Ollivander's. Get you a wand BUT I don't ever want to see you getting dependent on that wand or I'll snap it myself. The wand is strictly a last resort weapon, you hear me?" Scabior's eyes were wide as he nodded in agreement.

Scabior (POV)

He was asleep when the Alpha came home. THE MALE had just beaten the hell out of him again. He fucking hated that bastard! When Mary came in, all excited, he found out the news.

"Scabior, your dad is home! The Alpha is back! He got rid of them, they left right after he walked into his house, isn't that great?" she was bouncing around, too happy to sit still. The Alpha had smiled at her! She remembered a good looking man from before. But he was BUILT! She couldn't help a small shiver of fear at the size of him, though. As badly as the other male could beat Scabior almost to death, one hard enough blow from the Alpha could probably outright kill her little brother!

Scabior stared sleepily at her. "I don't want to see him. He won't like me either. I'd sooner just leave. Then he won't have an unwanted pup running around. Nobody would miss a little nothing like me."

Mary snorted. "You are not nothing! You are MY little brother and I'll tell him that. He's not going to kick you out of the pack! Besides, just who all are the nobodies who would want you to go? I want you to stay and I'm definitely not nobody!"

She pulled and tugged on the boy until he agreed to get up, get ready and go to the feast that night. They walked down the trail to the square. She didn't see the Alpha yet but surely he wouldn't miss his own homecoming feast, would he?

Scabior was anxious to go join his brothers, now that he knew the other male was gone. He could finally see if the wolf had been lying to him or not. His brothers had seemed nice enough when he first met them, but then he was forbidden to have any contact with anyone but HER and HIM. He was even forbidden to say their names. The only things he'd been allowed to call them were Master and Mistress. Master had beaten him and left him in the rain for speaking his name. Mary had found him and pulled him home. Soon after that, he'd started running away to Mary's house every time he was beaten.

They stood there, talking. Since he'd only known the man roughly two years before he left, he didn't really have much more than vague memories of him. He was nineteen now. He'd been nine when the Alpha surrendered himself to the wizards. When the interloper came in he'd just turned ten.

Mary looked past him and smiled. He turned and saw the Alpha looking at her. Then he shifted his attention to Scabior. He walked toward them. Scabior straightened defiantly, ready to fight him off of Mary.

"Hey, pup, I heard you've had a rough time of it lately?" he asked.

"No, I haven't. He didn't hurt me. I'm tougher than I look." Scabior declared stubbornly as he tilted his chin, unaware of how his action clearly showed his injuries. He tensed as the man suddenly pulled him close, rubbing the top of his head with rough knuckles. He was actually being playful with him! He had to laugh, then squirmed around till the man let him go. He walked off to stand with his brothers but kept his eye on them. The Alpha had zeroed in on Mary and Scabior was determined to protect her.

They had gone to dance. He relaxed as long as he could see them. When the dance was over, he went to collect Mary. The alpha surprised them with a dinner invitation the next evening.

Scabior had cautiously returned home that evening. Fenrir, his Beta and the camp scouts sat in the kitchen, discussing new security measures. Apparently the bad wizard who caused such a ruckus nineteen years ago was back and the good wizards were all having panic attacks, thinking he was going to cause more trouble. The wolves laughed at the tales of people going into hiding. 'oooo, the big, bad wizard is back, oh, woe is me, oooo!'

Fenrir caught sight of the boy, quietly trying to slip through, unnoticed. The others watched silently. They knew what this pup meant to their leader. He'd been just a wizard once, as well. His human family had been shredded in front of him, he was left for dead himself. They had seen pictures of his family and that boy would almost pass as his youngest human son. They were all glad to have the Alpha back, not only for the whole pack, but especially for this boy. He needed his dad.

"Scabior!" he watched as the boy clenched his eyes, gritted his teeth and slowly turned to face him.

"Yeah, sir?" he asked, eyes downcast.

"Training starts at six in the morning, boy, get plenty of sleep tonight." The boy's eyes popped open in surpirise.

"Yes, sir!" he chirped and went on to his room.

"You know he thought you were going to find fault with him, don't you?" asked his Beta, Romero.

"Yep, I knew. I also know Cassie didn't train him, the way she was supposed to. If she had, the rat bastard would never have been able to lay a hand on him. Not without sustaining damage himself. That's ok, though. Now I can train him the way he needs to be trained. Much as I hate to, sooner or later, I'll have to let him go to the outside world. At least for a little while, let him sow some wild oats. I'd love to be able to keep him hidden away from the world. But that wouldn't be fair to him." Fenrir took a sip of whiskey as he looked over the new boundaries they needed to establish.

The next morning, Mary went looking for her little brother. To her surprise, he wasn't home nor was he in the square with their friends. "He's training, Mary. Him and the Alpha are in the meadow."

'Training?' she thought. She raced off to keep watch and make sure the Alpha didn't end up beating him. Fenrir and Scabior were, indeed, in the meadow. Fen was explaining the different holds and techniques he'd be teaching Scabior. Mary sat on a large boulder to watch. After watching them grapple a while, she was surprised when the Alpha started teaching him some rudimentary wandless magic. The training session came to an end and they walked toward her.

"Mary, how are you today?" the Alpha asked.

"I'm good, thank you, Alpha." She replied as he helped her off the boulder.

"Ah, ah, the name is Fen, remember?" he teased.

"Sorry." She laughed. "I remember, Fen."

"That's better." Fen smiled. Scabior walked slightly ahead, glancing back at them. "I think we have a chaperone." He spoke in a lower voice, nodding at him.

Mary giggled. "He's very protective of me. Has been ever since I took him home that first night."

"Thank you for caring for him. That was a bad mistake on my part. I kept the child with me every day before I left. He didn't have a chance to bond with anyone besides Cassie and me. If he had, he wouldn't have suffered as much as he has." Fenrir sighed. "It's going to take a while before he trusts anyone else, even me."

"Hey, Fen, don't worry. Scabior does trust you. He just doesn't know you. As soon as he knows you again, it'll be like you never left. He told me all about you. Every day, he'd show me something you had shown him and talk about his dad, the Alpha. He always knew you'd be back. He wasn't sure when, but he knew you'd be back." Fen smiled proudly.

"I'm glad. I look forward to hearing him call me dad again, not Alpha or Master. Can't believe that rat bastard would make him call them Master and Mistress or that Cassie would allow it. Makes me want to hunt them both down, shred them and leave them for the next pack to find." He gritted his teeth at the thought.

Mary hugged his arm. "They'll get theirs. My mum always says bad things come full circle. Whatever you do to someone always comes back to bite you in the arse."

Fenrir laughed. "Your mum sounds like a wise woman." He eased his arm around Mary's shoulder, pulled her close and was pleased to feel her arm curl around his back. The pup kept a careful watch on them over his shoulder.

After that day, it seemed like the training went by in a whirl. Scabior proved to be a natural at fighting techniques. It took a while for him to pick up the wandless magic without exploding at least two trees a day. But he was finally able to control his bursts of magic and start directing it the way he wanted to.

Fen and Mary grew closer all the time. She would sometimes stay with her mum in the village. More and more often, though, she could be found at the meadow, watching Scabior's training sessions. She was there the day he finally managed to pin Fen down three times. Fen proudly told him he was now fully trained. They spoke briefly of Scabior's past and wands. Fen told him next time he went to London, Scabior could go with him. They would go to Ollivander's and get a wand for Scabior.

That evening, Fen and Mary were taking a walk around the parameter of the village. "I'll be going to London soon. The boy needs a wand and I have an old friend who has been waiting for me to visit him." Fen looked up at the night sky. They had ended up at the boulder, at the edge of the training meadow. He was leaned back, holding Mary against him.

"I'll miss you. You ARE coming back, aren't you?" Mary tipped her head back to see his face.

"Of course, I'm coming back. I wouldn't leave this time, but he's sent me several massages, asking me to visit. We were good friends growing up. He was one of the very few who would still associate with me after I was bitten." Fen told her. He didn't tell her his friend was the very wizard who had caused so much trouble nineteen years ago. He didn't think she would like hearing that!

"Will you come see me when you come back?" she held her breath.

"Actually, I was hoping to have you moved into my house before I left." He waited.

Mary's eyes widened and she gasped. "You,, you,,, what?"

Fen lifted her onto the boulder and reached into his pocket. "Mary Delaney, would you do me the honor of becoming my mate?" he held a necklace in his hand. It matched the necklace he wore, proclaiming him the Alpha. If she accepted, it would proclaim her as the Alpha female. It was something Fen had not offered Cassie. She had just automatically assumed living with Fen made her the Alpha female.

Mary had tears in her eyes but she was smiling happily. She gathered up her hair as Fen fastened the necklace for her. She threw her arms around him, laughing with joy. Fen couldn't help it, he got caught up in her excitement. He picked her up and carried her back, bridal style. They went to let her parents know she was the new mate of their Alpha. They took a weeklong trip, just the two of them and came back to move Mary in with him and Scabior. Scabior, who had stayed with Mary's parents while they were gone, presented them with a carving he'd done. It was the two of them, seated on 'their' boulder. Fen proudly displayed it in the center of the mantle.

Two days later, he, Scabior and ten of his other pups were ready to go to London. They apparated from Scotland to England and walked into the Leaky Cauldron from the Muggle side. Fen showed Scabior how to open the archway into Diagon Alley. They walked down the sidewalk in a large group. From the way people were hurriedly moving away, Scabior was starting to see what Fen had been talking about. They went into Ollivander's. Scabior was fitted with a wand and was glad to get the hell out of that shop. 'The old man gave him the heebie-jeebies!'

After acquiring the wand, he took him to Madame Malkins Robes. Of course, Scabior didn't need robes. But, if he was going to be spending any length of time at all in the outside world, he would need more clothes than he currently had. As his boys spread out into other shops and around the street, Scabior wandered around the shop. Watching him was like watching a kid in a candy shop, which incidentally was going to be their next stop as Mary had asked for some candy that their local wizarding villages didn't keep in stock. That would have to be Hogsmeade but they would have to backtrack, then go on to Malfoy Manor.

After looking all the clothes over, Scabior made his choice. Combat boots, black pants, white, long sleeved dress shirt with a black vest featuring a double row of buttons. With it, Madame Malkin helped him choose a green tie. He also took two pairs of black gloves, one with fingers and one without. After getting Fen's approval and the outfit paid for, they went out the door. Fen was telling about their last stop before going to visit his friend.

The wolf pack apparated to Hogsmeade, where Fen and Scabior went to Honeydukes and bought Mary a large pack of their homemade fudge. Afterwards, they went to Malfoy Manor and Fen sent a Patronus. Bella came to the gate.

"What's new, Bella?" asked Fen conversationally.

Bella smiled slyly. "A great deal, Fen, a great deal! You'll see, it's not anything bad, though, it's all good."

Fen just raised a brow. He wasn't sure whether to be happy or panicked by anything causing Bella joy. They walked into the manor and up the stairs to the drawing room. He had seen Voldemort shortly before the man tried to kill Harry Potter and frankly the man hadn't looked too good. As he walked in, a neatly dressed man with brown hair going gray turned to greet him. It was Tom Riddle as he'd been in the height of his political revolution.

"Fen, my old friend, how are you? How goes it with your pack?" he asked.

Fen greeted him with a smile. "thriving, some good, some bad, all strong."

"Fen! You've added a few since the let time I saw your pups. Who's the boy in the black pants?" wondered Voldemort.

"That's Scabior. My youngest human pup. He's wizard born and, well,,, you know, bitten, rejected,, same olé, same olé. My scouts heard screams, the attack, the humans killed the wolf but left the boy. So they picked him up, brought him home. Feisty, mouthy as hell (once you get him talking, that is), impulsive, headstrong. But you give that boy a scent, he stays on it until he finds it. I've kept him secluded long enough. Figured it was time he learned how to make it in the real world. I still have him under restrictions but he's loving the little bit of freedom I've given him."

Voldemort looked at him intently. "Does he have a mate yet?"

Fenrir cocked an eyebrow at Voldemort. "Nooo," he said, drawing the answer out.

"He's wizard born, you said?" Voldemort pressed on, knowing he'd captured the wolf's attention.

"Yes, wizard born, wolf raised." Fen answered. He was curious about all the questions but Tom had his reasons for asking them. Fen was willing to wait until he was ready to talk.

"I'm old, Fen, and getting older each day. When I was younger, I made foolish choices out of anger, spite and bitterness. I caused a war because I couldn't deal with how I was treated as a child. Now, I'm wiser, I hope." He chuckled. "I have a daughter, Fen. A daughter I knew nothing about until recently. She knows nothing about me. I need you to take a special hunting trip, my friend. You know of Dumbledore's beloved 'Golden Trio', don't you?" Fen nodded silently. "I need you to track them down. I want to sign a peace treaty. I need the girl from the Trio to write out the draft for the other side. I have our side drafted. Can you bring me the girl?"

Fenrir tipped his head. "We can. But it might take a while, depending on how fast the boy catches her scent. He's my best tracker." He nodded towards Scabior, who was staring in awe at the talking, moving portraits.

"I know I don't need to say this but it's important to me that she arrive here unharmed and untouched, pure. Or I'll have to start removing parts from your boy." Voldemort mentioned casually.

Fen winced but nodded. "Unharmed, untouched and pure. I can do that. The boy will listen to his Alpha. What if she's already been touched before we find her?"

"Then I shall send you on another trip and that one, you can wolf out as much as you want to, as long as you kill the one who touched her." Voldemort snarled. Fenrir smiled widely at that answer.

"Shall we get started now? The sooner we leave here, the sooner we can make it back with her." Fen said. Voldemort handed him three flyers. The faces of Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger stared at him. Fenrir frowned. He looked at Voldemort, then back at the girl. His eyes widened. He looked back at Voldemort who smiled, sheepishly.

"Ah, now I see. No worries, Tom, I'll keep her safe. Once we find her, that is." Fen reassured his friend. He understood having a lost child, wanting to know they were safe. He'd felt that same fear, over Scabior, the whole time he was in Azkaban.

"Scabior, boys, come on, we got work to do! Let's move out!" Fen snapped the order out.

"Geryback!" yelled Yaxley, the new head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. "Wait up, I have something here." He strode quickly over to the group. One by one, he tied a red bandanna around the left bicep of each wolf. "This identifies you as Snatchers. Now, best of luck to you and your boys. Go out and Snatch the girl."


	5. Scabior

Scabior

The hunt is on and, boy, does she give him a run for his money. Scabior catches his girl!

"Scabior! Boys! Come on, we got work to do!" Fen yelled.

"Greyback, wait up, I have something here!" yelled Yaxley, the new head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. He came over and tied a red bandanna around the bicep of each wolf in the group. "This identifies you as Snatchers. Best of luck to you and your boys. Now go out and Snatch the girl."

They walked out of the Manor, down the drive and out the gate. There, they stopped for a conference. Fenrir thought about it. 'If he were a member of the 'Golden Trio', wanted by Voldemort and the Ministry alike, protected by the Order of the Flaming Chicken, where would he hide out at?'

"Hmm, I know where we can start, not to say we'll find anything but it's a start." Fen said. One by one they apparated back to London. It was a quiet park they ended up in. They walked around the hedge and stopped in a Muggle neighborhood. Scabior was wondering why they were here.

Fen was the one who pointed out the street numbers. They went from ten, even to thirteen. Scabior's eyes widened. 'Where was number twelve?' Fen smiled as he watched the boy catch on. He then stared intently across the street. He actually walked across and rubbed his hands over the houses and came back. "There's definitely something here, Fen. Not sure it's a whole house but there's been magic here lately."

"It's a house, boy. Bella told me about it. Plus, I can smell that another wolf has been here. Bella's cousin lives in this house and he's best friends with a wolf I was responsible for biting. We just gotta hang out for a while until someone shows themselves. They can't stay holed up forever. Sooner or later, they'll have to come out and resupply."

The wolves took turns, watching the house the next few weeks. Finally, it was time for the school year to start back at Hogwarts. According to Lucius, it was the sixth year for the Trio and his son, Draco. Also, one other good thing had come from the wolves watching the house. There had been far less attacks from the Order than from the Ministry. So they had managed to hem the Order in, anyway. Dumbledore and the Ministry both continued insisting that any day now, Voldemort was going to start an offensive against them in order to get to the Boy Who Lived. Fen rolled his eyes at that. They'd already had the past two and a half years to 'make an offensive move'. 'Had they?' NO!

This was the year Draco asked his father to make a request that he and a few of his friends be allowed to join the Death Eaters. Draco had expressed an interest in politics. He wished to join the group and make them an official political party. He had made a sample banner using the skull and snake brand. His friends, Marcus Flint, Blaise Zabini, Aidan Pucey, Pansy Parkinson and Millicent Bulstrode were all coming up with different platforms which they thought would both interest the people and the government officials who were against the new Minister of Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour. They were thrilled when Tom actually took the time to look over their work. There were several platforms concerning Magical Creatures and Muggleborns that he thought his daughter might take an interest in, considering that Draco had told them about her S.P.E.W. campaign in their fourth year. And, as far as she knew, she was still Muggleborn. He approved those campaigns to be further thought out and added to. The banner was approved also, with a request that the background be red (in honor of his daughter's sorted house), though he didn't tell Draco that.

Once the new-year started, Draco soon wrote home that Pothead was stalking him everywhere he went. The bad side of this was that Draco, Crabbe and Goyle were constantly clashing with the Trio. The good side was that Draco had overheard, accidentally, that the wolves were on the trail of the Trio and he knew how they could get the scent for the wolves. That was how one evening, halfway through the first semester, an owl came to the window of the Manor, carrying a familiar pink scarf. His mother gasped when she saw it. The scarf was given to Scabior, who took a deep whiff of the scent and immediately claimed the scarf for himself. Narcissa saw Tom smiling and nodding at Fen, so she put in an order and had an identical scarf sent back to Draco to drop somewhere Granger would be sure to find it.

Now that he had the scent he needed, Scabior knew it would only be a matter of time before he tracked down this girl who seemed so important to his father and Mr. Tom. As he and his brothers fell into one big dog pile to go to sleep, he still kept a protective grip on his new possession.

The school year ended with a huge shock. Dumbledore had, at the start of the year, stumbled onto what he thought was a Horcrux made by Tom. Unaware that Tom had destroyed most of his Horcruxes, he slipped a highly dangerous cursed object onto his finger and almost killed himself. Were it not for the quick thinking and quicker reactions of Severus Snape, he would most certainly have been dead before school had ever started.

As it was, Severus was unable to convince him that there was no war to be fought. He accused Severus of turning his back on HIM, as he had turned against Voldemort so many years ago. Nothing Severus said could make him see any different. Even though he was in such poor condition, he insisted on battling Snape, there on top of the Astronomy Tower. He had been somewhere and something had happened. He was so weak, he was leaning against the wall and sliding down it. Snape tried to avoid shooting anything lethal at him, until Dumbledore looked him in the eye and called him a coward for not stepping in and saving James and Lily Potter himself. At that, Severus lost his temper and sent the killing curse at him.

That's when the whole bloody Order of the Flaming Chicken seemed to come out of the woodwork and haul ass after him! Draco had accompanied him. They found themselves chased by a crazed Harry Potter, who had come from the devil only knows where! Harry had the nerve, after using the same spell on Draco, unaware of its effects, to attempt to use his own spell against him. Tried to anyway as Severus turned around and shocked the boy, telling him whose book he'd been using so successfully in Potions. Harry was gobsmacked on hearing that SNAPE was the halfblooded prince whose teachings he'd been following so faithfully all year long.

After the school year ended, the Trio went their separate was briefly. Fen had stationed several of his men at King's Cross and told them to watch and see who the Trio left with and, if possible, follow them to their current location. Scabior had wanted to be one of the ones standing guard but Fen kept him with him. He soon regretted that decision as the Trio split up into three groups.

The girl went with her parents. The ginger went with his parents and the black haired boy went with strange looking Muggles who didn't look a thing like him. The men were told to specifically trail the girl but their noses weren't half as sharp at catching scents as Scabior's nose. They managed to follow her outside of the station but once they got into one of those Muggle contraptions, the wolves lost the scent.

Now it was a matter of waiting to see where they were the next time they came out of hiding. The Death Eaters had heard there was to be a wedding the Trio would be attending. It was the wedding of Bill Weasley to the Veela girl he had met during the year he and the rest of the family attended the Triwiazrd Tournament as representatives of Harry's family. Naturally they concluded that it would be held at the Burrow.

Now, all they needed was a location so Scabior and Fen could snatch the girl and bring her to Tom. Nothing ever goes smoothly, though. When it was discovered that Yaxley and several other high ranking officials were sympathetic to Tom, all hell broke loose and their side had no choice but to take the Ministry before they were ready to. They did, however, get the location of the wedding but by the time it was all said and done, the Trio had vanished into hiding, once again. It was Lucius who came up with the method of possibly catching the trio with the simple idea to curse the name of Voldemort. Anyone who said it would automatically draw both Death Eaters and/or Snatchers to their location. Unfortunately, he had reckoned on most people still being too afraid to say the name. They hadn't realized that hearing Harry and Dumbledore say the name so boldly would prompt other people into saying it more. So after every 'capture,' the Snatchers would allow themselves to be pictured bringing in 'prisoners.' In reality, they were simply being questioned as to whether they had been in contact with the Trio or not (most hadn't).

Fen could feel Scabior's frustration growing. He WANTED the owner of that scarf! He KNEW she was out there! How the devil was she eluding him?!

One day, there came surprising news from the Ministry. Apparently, the Trio had broken into the courtroom and stolen a necklace right off the neck of one Dolores Umbridge and she was completely outraged about it. She insisted that it was a priceless family heirloom they had taken.

When shown a picture of the necklace, Tom began laughing. It was an heirloom, all right, of HIS family. It had formerly been a Horcrux, which was why they wanted it, Tom suspected. Apparently the old dingbat, Dumbledore, had put the notion into Harry's head. Severus agreed with that theory, especially considering how weak Dumbledore had been when he blasted him off the Tower.

Yaxley had a hand on the ginger as they escaped from the Ministry but was shaken off as his daughter apparated herself and her friends away from him after taking him inside the ward that guarded the old Black house, the former home of Sirius Black. Tom was proud when he heard what she had managed to do, even though it kept them separated that much longer.

Yaxley took Fen and Scabior back and they finally were able to see what they had been standing guard on. They went inside and found the rooms the Trio had been using. Fen memorized the boys' scents, knowing the only scent Scabior was interested in was that of the girl whose scarf resided around his neck. He and Yaxley smiled, watching the boy lay down on her bed and bury his nose in her pillow. As he raised his head from the pillow, he sniffed the scarf as if comparing the two smells, then he grinned widely. He had her now! He hopped up and swaggered out the door.

That night, they apprehended some people, a couple. While taking them back to camp, Scabior had his head down, deep in thought about the scent that was driving him bonkers. Fen was in the lead, carrying the girl. Behind him was a wizard Yaxley had stuck them with. Scabior didn't like him and neither did Fen. Suddenly, Scabior stopped and lifted his head. "What's that?" he asked abruptly. Fen recognized the look on his face. The boy had caught a whiff of something. He lifted a hand and backtracked. "What's that,,, smell?" he stood there, sniffing. He could almost swear it was the same smell from that afternoon! But how could it be? They were in the middle of the woods and there was nobody there except them! But, by the moon, that scent was there! Right in front of him! How?! He was distracted by the wizard, dropping his burden to the ground. "What you doing?" he asked sharply. "Oh, do you want me to carry it?" he crooned, mockingly. "Don't be ridiculous, pick it up!" he snapped. He laughed then. "Daft numpty!" Unaware that, had he taken one more step, he would have been inside the wards of and face to face with the very girl he was seeking.

She was trembling with terror at the extremely close call. After that, he had checked out every sighting that even remotely sounded like them. One day, as they were relaxing by the river's edge, about to give up and admit defeat, they were startled by a whoosh and a snap, right in their midst.

Scabior was leaning against a tree. Seeing her, his eyes widened. She was even more beautiful than her picture showed. She walked right at him with her head lowered. Right as she saw the toes of his boots, she looked up. Her eyes widened and she gasped.

"Hello, beautiful." He murmured softly. She stumbled back and whipped around, the boy's had frozen as well. Then suddenly they dashed away. He watched her run for a moment, smiling, then yelled. "Well, don't hang about! Snatch 'em!"

He shot away from the tree and made a beeline to get behind her. They brought the ginger down, then to their surprise, she herself took down the black haired boy. She had almost run straight into the second wave of his boys and knew there was no fighting their way out or nor outrunning the whole lot of them. She had snatched something from the black haired boy before they reached them. He knew she didn't know they were already aware of who they were. He decided to play ignorant a while longer. He heard her before he saw her.

"Get off her!" yelled the ginger, getting a boot to the rib for his trouble.

"Leave him! Get off me!" she yelled, shrilly.

"Your boyfriend will get much worse than that," Scabior said as he jumped off the bank, "If he doesn't learn the behave himself!" he walked past Harry, then jumped back in surprise at the sight of his swollen face. "What happened to you, ugly?" both Harry and Fen looked at him. He looked at Fen, teasingly. "No, not you." Fen almost laughed and cuffed the boy's ear. He hadn't had a chance to shave or have a haircut in a while. After telling them to 'check the boy's name' (as if they didn't already know him!), he walked over to the struggling girl. "And you, my lovely, what do they call you?" as she spoke, he lifted a lock of hair, smelled it, then swayed towards her. He just stopped himself from kissing her, remembering Fen's VERY STRICT instructions about her needing to be unharmed, untouched and pure, all of which he could smell and everyone could see.


	6. The Trio

The Trio

Caught! The Snatchers have caught the Trio. Coming full circle back to Malfoy Manor!

Hermione stared at the Snatcher. He was coming right at her. He only addressed Harry in an absent sort of way. He stopped in front of her and reached for her hair. "And you, my lovely, what do they call you?" he leaned in, almost as if he was about to kiss her. Hermione flinched away from him.

"Penelope Clearwater, half blood." She whimpered.

He was distracted by his men, not finding Harry's fake name on their list. He looked at Fen, who nodded at him. He turned back to her and smiled. He motioned the Snatcher behind her to release her as he took her arms.

"I think not, sweetheart." She almost fainted as Greyback walked over and held up a wanted poster beside her face. It was an older picture but obviously her. Greyback arched a brow and looked at her. She sighed and nodded. It was no good to deny it. They had surely known who they were already. He and Greyback smiled at each other. Then Greyback turned to her.

"How about you take that Stinging Jinx off Potter, missy?" the werewolf asked. She took at him, startled. He laughed at her, "I used to be a wizard, darling, I know my spells. Take the spell off him. We mean you no harm. We just need you to come with us. I got a friend, needing to see you."

Hermione waved her wand at Harry, whose face shrank back to its normal shape. She was allowed to go and sit with the boys while the Snatchers set up camp. Obviously they were preparing to eat as a fire was being built and a frying pan was brought out.

Knowing they had been probably been outdoors for a while and judging by how thin they looked, Greyback figured they would be starving for some real food. Their camp cook was fixing a load of sausages for lunch. He made sure the Trio was given the first heaping serving. As fast as they were eaten, he knew he'd been right. It had been a while since their last solid meal. When everyone had eaten, he made sure the Trio was given a second helping and they began breaking camp as the teens ate. Once they were finished, he took Weasley, another Snatcher named Bilby took Potter and Scabior took Granger.

It was all he could do not to burst out laughing at Granger, fussing at his boy over personal boundaries. All around them, his other boys were chuckling, too. They all knew what Scabior's idea of personal boundaries were and holding a pretty girl right against him wasn't it! She had a lot to learn about him!

"Seriously, why do you have to have me right against you?! Have you no idea about personal boundaries?! Get off me and quit touching me, oh my gods!" Hermione exclaimed. She shoved Scabior away long enough to kick him in the shin. That would show the moron! He yelped in pain, snarled at her angrily and was about to grab her back when Greyback interrupted their fight.

"Ok, ok, break it up, you two, break it up!" she gasped and visibly gulped as Greyback shoved Ron at Scabior and took HER arm instead. To her surprise, he looked down and reassured her. "No worries now, missy, we'll be there soon and all will be well."

Harry got brave enough then to ask him their destination. "Where are we going?" At Greyback's steady look, he quickly rephrased the question. "Please, sir, where are we going?"

"Never you mind, Potter, nothing's going to happen to you, so rest easy." Hermione looked back at Harry. He looked helplessly at her. She tried not to think of where they could be going or what would happen to them once they got there. She watched as the Snatchers walked all around them. She couldn't help but notice how they all, except Scabior and now Greyback, seemed to be giving her a wide berth. It made her feel better, on one hand, because she knew she wouldn't have to worry about most of them attacking her. On the other hand, now she had to worry about which of the two of them would be the first one to attack her, Scabior or Greyback.

After walking for a few hours, they came to a valley. At the end of it sat a huge house. At Greyback's grunt of satisfaction, she looked up. "Malfoy Manor, missy. We're here." She swallowed hard and looked at Harry again. His eyes had grown huge at Greyback's words.

Suddenly, as they were walking up the trail to the gate, Greyback grabbed Ron and pulled him away from Scabior. He gently shoved Hermione towards him. "You're the one the Dark Lord wanted to see bringing her in, boy. Just don't get fresh with her in front of him and you might make it out with your bollocks still intact." Greyback smiled as his son's eyes widened. Hermione hissed angrily as the boy, once again, pulled her flush against him. She began pushing and shoving at his arm again.

They were herded through the gate and up the stairs. She heard Harry gulp loudly as they were pushed into the drawing room. She really paid no attention to their surroundings until she, Harry and Ron were forced to kneel down. Then she heard it.

"Rise, my friends, let me see them." That hissing voice could only belong to one man. She looked up and Voldemort was gliding towards them. He stopped at Harry. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "The war is over, Harry Potter, do not attack me and I will not be forced to kill you."

"The Death Eaters are still attacking people, you call that over?" Harry snapped.

"No, I call that retaliation. Your Order of the Phoenix and the Ministry keep killing innocent people for no more than a connection to me or my followers, do you honestly think we're going to sit back and allow it?" Voldemort hissed angrily at him. "My people have not instigated an attack on any of your people for a while now, nor any Muggles or even Muggleborns. Can your side say the same?"

Hermione frowned as he made a good point. She HADN'T heard of any attacks from the Death Eaters but she had heard of other attacks by the Ministry. Attacks that seemed aimed at anyone with the slightest Death Eater connection. She could tell when Harry made the connection as well. His eyes shot over and met hers. Had Dumbledore and the Order been misleading them all this time?! Harry answered him slowly. "No sir, I can't. I don't know what's been going on lately."

"Rest assured, Harry Potter, this war is over. I simply want to come to an understanding and sign a peace treaty with the Ministry and also the Order of the Phoenix. I have a copy for my side already drafted, now I just need someone to draft a copy for the other side. Perhaps, Miss Granger?" she watched fearfully as he walked closer to her. Whereas she'd just been struggling to get away from Scabior, mow she was cowering into his arms.

"Miss Granger, how lovely to see you. I hope they didn't treat you too badly? I need your help with a small matter. A peace treaty. Come, child, sit. Nobody will harm you or your friends." She accepted the hand he held out. She glanced, confused, at Harry. He looked as dumbstruck as her. Neither of them could figure it out. Here they were in Death Eater central and not a one of them at so much as offered to attack them. As Voldemort led her to a chair in front of his desk, Draco and some of his friends filed into the room and slouched to the floor on the wall opposite of the Snatchers.

With a wave of his hand, Voldemort sent a roll of parchment gently into Hermione's grasp. "Please, my child, take a moment and look that over." She unfilled the parchment and looked down. It was, indeed, a draft of a peace treaty. Surprisingly, the first item on his list was amnesty for Draco and the younger members of his Death Eaters who hadn't been made to kill someone in order to join. The next item was just as surprising: he and the older, established Death Eaters were willing to go to Azkaban or, in some cases, return to Azkaban and repay their debt to society. There were a few conditions, however, that Hermione actually thought were quite reasonable: no guards were allowed to beat or mistreat them, no torture and, most importantly, no dementors.

He wanted it known that his group, the Death Eaters, were now a political party. They were not interested in fighting anymore. They did still have political agendas they wanted to advocate. They wanted tighter security measures established for unintentional use of magic in front of muggles. They also wanted a school or classes, at the very least, established for Muggleborn or Muggle raised students: for example, herself and Mr. Potter. She had come to the Magical world with little to no idea what to expect, as had Harry. The schools or classes would be ideal to help students come to grips with their magic and reduce the amount of stress that caused accidental bursts of magic. It would also give Muggle parents or guardians the chance to learn and accept their child's Magical heritage. If a child was found to be in an abusive situation, they would be removed and integrated into a Magical family.

At this point, Hermione expressed the wish that this particular point would have been established seventeen years ago, for Harry's sake. Then Dumbledore would never have been able to leave him with the Dursleys for most of his academic career. Voldemort flicked a brow as he glanced at Harry. He had included that point because of his own childhood, he hadn't realized that Harry's childhood was just as bad. All in all, Hermione was becoming more engrossed in the document. She was astounded at all the good points it actually was trying to bring into play.

He smiled at her. He didn't intend to tell her right away that she was his daughter. First he wanted her to trust him as 'Lord Voldemort'. Once she was more at ease with him, then he would drop the persona and reveal himself. At this point, he would be shooting himself in the foot because she would never accept him at this fragile stage. Right now, as she worked on reading through the draft he'd so carefully drawn up, he thought he could see small tendrils of trust just beginning to grow.

As it grew late, he called a halt. Narcissa and Bellatrix came to show her to her room. Lucius, the LeStrange brothers and Dolohov showed Ron and Harry to their rooms. They were careful to keep the three of them fairly close to each other.

After everyone but Fenrir left, Tom dropped his Voldemort persona and sighed. "Well, Fen, what do you think? Did I do good? Is there any chance at all that she will accept me?" Fenrir smiled at his old friend. "You're doing great. She was really interested in that draft. Just keep working with her to further establish those ideas and she'll be more then proud to call you father."

Tom hoped it wouldn't take too long to win Hermione's trust. Though he hadn't said anything to his followers yet, once she trusted him, he was hoping to persuade her to bring her mother back into the picture. All these years, he'd never forgotten the beautiful muggle and he was hoping she'd finally been able to leave the lying, cheating bastard who had sent her into his arms that night. It was his dearest hope that he, Hermione and Isabelle would be able to be a family of their own.

"How does your boy feel about her, now that they've actually met face to face?" Tom asked Fen. Fenrir burst out laughing. "Well, put it this way, Tom. She'll definitely be teaching him about personal boundaries if they say around each other long enough." He shook his head. "They fussed and fought until I had to separate them on the way here, mostly because he wanted to keep her right dead against him."

Tom laughed. From the little he'd seen as they were entering the drawing room, that sounded about right. "My daughter needs a bodyguard. I'm assuming he wouldn't turn down the opportunity to be near her, then?"

"That would be a dream come true for him. He didn't want to let her go when you took her to the chair over there." Fen looked down. "Where was Nagini? I'm surprised she want here to check the girl out."

"I told Nagini to stay out of sight until I can bring the two of them together. She frightens most people. I don't want Hermione to be one of them. I want to be there when they meet, to keep Hermione calm." Tom said absently. "How is your mate, Fen? I know you were gone for a while. How did she react to you when you finally got back?"

"Cassie? She had taken someone else and was trying to establish them in my place. I sent them packing and I have a new mate, this one has already been named my Alpha female. Her name is Mary. She's beautiful and she already gets along with my boy, Scabior." Fen replied, smiling as he thought of Mary. He needed to go back soon. He dearly missed her.

Upstairs in her room, Hermione w's being given a tour by Narcissa. "This is your bathroom. This will be your closet. We really need to go shopping soon. Maybe the Dark Lord will allow us a shopping trip tomorrow. If not, I'm sure Tattings and Twilfit will be happy to send an employee here. As long as they have your measurements and a general idea of colours that suit you, they can pretty much make any kind of outfit you ask for. Bella and I have been planning to go shopping for a while, but we hadn't gotten around to it yet." Hermione was intrigued enough to ask. "Why would I need clothes, I'm not going to be here very long."

"Oh, my dear." Bella finally spoke up. "You ARE going to be here a while. It's going to take lots of time to get that treaty perfected. Then you have to draft a copy of the other side's demands. Then they have to mesh enough to satisfy both sides. No, no, no, dearie, you'll be here for quite a while. Our master is very exacting and he wants this treaty to be just right for everyone."

Hermione was slightly uneasy after hearing that but she tried not to let it show. Narcissa pulled a set of beautiful blue dress robes out of the wardrobe. "There are a few dress robes here but I'm not sure if they will fit right. At the time I ordered them, we had no way of knowing what size you wore. But if you want to put them on, we can adjust them for tonight and after that maybe we can find some handy spell books in the library, ok?" Hermione nodded shyly. "Just to let you know, we dress for dinner and the Dark Lord will expect you and your friends to attend. They have a few dress robes in their rooms as well."

Hermione took a deep breath after they left, wishing that Ginny Weasley was here with her. Anytime she'd had to dress up, Ginny, Lavender, Parvati and Padma ere always there to help her with her hair and makeup. As she stood staring at the beautiful robes laid out for her, there was a knock on the door. "Come in." she called. She was astonished when Pansy Parkinson, Millicent Bulstrode, Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davis walked in. "Good evening, Granger, how are you? Narcissa had Draco send us over. She wanted to help you with your hair but was afraid she would upset you in some way. So, can we help?" Hermione smiled tentatively. "Yes, please. I'm not the best in the world with makeup and hair."

The Slytherin girls swarmed Hermione and pulled her over to the dressing table. They sat her down, then looked over the colour palette on the makeup laid out on the table. As Millicent and Tracey worked on her hair, Daphne and Pansy worked on her makeup. The four of them speculated as to who she was being prettied up for. Hermione was astounded that they would think that. "I'm not being prettied up for anyone. I'm just here to help draft a peace treaty between your side and mine. That's it."

Outwardly, the girls accepted that explanation, all the while, knowing she was the Dark Lord's daughter. They also knew, though he hadn't said in so many words, that he was already considering matches for her. Among those being considered was Draco and his friends, Blaise, Theo, Marcus and Aidan, most of whose fathers were in his Inner Circle. Blaise's mother hosted quite a few dinner parties a year for him. Now, they were sure that Hermione would start being groomed to take over hosting duties.

Dinner was a lively affair as the adults all sat at one table and the teens were all seated at another smaller table. To the surprise of most of them, one of the wolf pups, Scabior, was at their table. He sat across from Hermione. He didn't speak to her or any of the girls. Instead, he and the boys carried on an obviously much argued discussion about Quidditch.

After dinner, the teens all changed into comfortable clothes and went to the back yard. It was here that Scabior and Hermione had their next conflict. As she, Harry and Ron speculated on how long they were actually going to be held here, the boys were talking to Scabior about hinting and taking down people. He was telling the about standing guard over Grimmauld Place. It was going to be his job, along with a few other wizards and Snatchers, to deliver a copy of the treaty, when Voldemort and Hermione both were satisfied with it, to both Grimmauld Place and the Order as well as the Ministry. He was laughingly calling it the name he'd heard Fenrir calling it, the Order of the Flaming Chicken.

"Excuse me, that's not what it's called." Hermione told him, narrowing her eyes. He turned and strolled over to her. "Oh, yeah? What is it called then?"

"It's the Order of the Phoenix, if you must know." He snorted. "Phoenix, chicken, same thing."

"A Phoenix is NOT a chicken! It's a mythical bird that bursts into flames!" she insisted. He looked away from her and smiled at the other boys, all of whom were watching the two of them intently. "A bird is a bed, a chicken is a bird, doll, same thing!"

"No! No, it's NOT the same thing! A Phoenix isn't real, a chicken is!" she thrilled.

"A Phoenix isn't real? So how do you explain that bird that Dumbledore had? Unless it was actually a chicken." He chided.

Hermione growled at him. "A Phoenix is Not a chicken!"

"How do you know, it lays eggs. I know, I've seen them. Chickens lay eggs." He smiled smugly at her.

"It's not a chicken , it's NOT A CHICKEN!" she screamed.

"Ha, ha, it's a flaming chicken, is what it is!" Scabior laughed. Hermione screamed incoherently, jumped up, grabbed a long stick off Fe ground and proceeded to chase him around the yard screaming. "IT'S A PHOENIX, NKT A CHICKEN!" Scabior was so delighted he couldn't hide it as he cavorted just out of her range, chanting. 'FLAMING, CHICKEN, FLAMING, CHICKEN!"

Tom and Fenrir came out in time to see the chase. At the sight of their grown kids acting like children, they both doubled over laughing, especially when they listened to WHAT they were yelling. They quickly decided to let them fight it out skedaddled back into the Manor.


	7. the shopping trip

The shopping trip

The end of the fight of the flaming chicken. Hermione gets a bodyguard (give you three guesses but you'll only need one, lol!). Nagini meets sister . Tom gets a little surprise. Feelings are hurt and apologies are made. Memories of the past rise up in dreams and suspicions are roused. Harry, Ron and Hermione go shopping with the snakes. Once again, bye bye Ron. What IS it with Scabior and injuries?!

Fen and Tom were still laughing when they got back to the drawing room. Lucius looked up and smiled. "Oh, no. What's happened?" Tom and Fen told them about the scene happening outside and pretty soon all the Death Eaters were laughing hysterically and holding their sides. 'Order of the Flaming Chicken, indeed!'

They were just gaining control of themselves when they heard yells and screaming rapidly approaching the room. Tom threw his Lord Voldemort persona back on just in time. "Fen! Help me! She's gonna kill me!" Scabior burst through the door, laughing his ass off as Hermione came racing after him, wild eyed and still swinging the stick at him. "Die, die, die!" she screamed. Fenrir stood in front of Scabior, chuckling, as Lucius caught Hermione. Tom gently pried the stick out of her hands.

"Now, now, Miss Granger, we don't want to be killing anyone, do we?" he chided.

"Ohhhh, yes, yes, we DO want to kill someone! We want to kill someone RIGHT NOW!" Hermione darted forward and tried her best to get around Fen. He caught her and held her until Scabior raced back out of the room.

"Miss Granger, I think now would be a good time to tell you I've assigned a bodyguard to you. Narcissa and Bella have requested a shopping trip for you tomorrow. Misses Parkinson, Bulstrode, Greengrass and Davis will accompany you as well. Since tensions are still so high, I will be sending young Scabior, Malfoy, Flint, Zabini and Pucey as extra security. Would Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley wish to go as well?" Tom told the furiously angry young witch. The distraction worked only briefly, then she snarled, "And just why does HE have to be along? Aren't the other boys protection enough?"

"He has to be along because there are only two of them who aren't students. They will need an experienced fighter along. Flint, Pucey, and Scabior will be the bodyguards for all of you. If I know Narcissa and Bella, no doubt, they will want to go to the muggle shops as well as Diagon Alley, Miss Granger." Tom breathed a sigh of relief as she seemed to accept that reason and calm down.

"Very well, he can come, too. I'm warning you, though, one mention of Flaming Chicken, and I'll be bringing him back in little pieces!" she snapped.

"The flaming chicken thing would be my fault, missy." Greyback chuckled over her shoulder. "The boy picked that one up from me, I'm afraid."

Hermione sighed and nodded. "Well, I guess I can't fault him for it, then. But I still don't have to like it!" she narrowed her eyes defiantly. Greyback laughed and released her.

At that moment, Nagini eased around the corner of the couch. Hermione saw her and froze, her eyes huge with fear. Tom looked around and smiled. He took Hermione's hand reassuringly and led her to Nagini. It said a great deal of how much more Hermione feared Nagini that she willingly let him take her hand. "Miss Granger, this is Nagini. Have no fear, child, she'll not harm you. She just wants to meet you." He knelt in front of the huge serpent and brought her down with him.

Hermione gingerly reached out, expecting to feel wet, slimy skin. Instead what she felt was soft, slick skin. She couldn't believe she, who had feared snakes since she was a child, was actually petting an honest to Merlin snake. Tom showed her how to let Nagini catch her scent and her favorite places to be petted. Hermione sat dead still as Nagini slowly began twining around her. When she stopped, her head rested on Hermione's shoulder. Hermione smiled hugely as she realized the giant snake really did mean her no harm and just wanted a hug and scratches. She hugged her gently and scratched all the places Tom had shown her. Nagini then unwound herself and went back to her favorite sun spot, happy that sister liked her and wasn't scared of her now.

"So what did you think of the draft, Miss Granger? Did it seem fairly balanced to you?" he inquired. Hermione looked up at him.

"There were several issues there I really liked, the classes for instance. I really wish both Harry and myself had been better instructed on what to expect. The removal from an abusive home was another. I liked that for Harry's sake. He should have been able to have a much better childhood than he did. There were people who would gladly have taken him in but were refused!" she frowned.

"I actually think the copy you drafted would be an excellent model for both sides. I'd like to look it over some more. Fine tune a couple of the bigger things but I think it'll be quite fair to both sides. I'm thinking Dumbledore and the Order will go along with it fairly well. The Ministry, I'm not so sure about. Maybe if you could persuade an Order member who also works at the Ministry to look it over with me, they might have a better feel for if the Ministry would accept it." She smiled at him. Lord Voldemort was proving to be quite reasonable, unlike what she'd been told he was like in the first Wizarding War. He helped her to her feet and handed her a copy of the draft. He'd been warned she'd want to keep a copy of it with her.

"Here you go, Miss Granger. You might want to rejoin your friends now. I'll make the final arrangements for the shopping trip tomorrow." He sent her on her way. Just as she opened the door, Scabior was about to reenter the room. He grinned at her widely and winked. As he'd been running back out of the room, Fen had caught his eye and motioned silently for him to stay near. She glared at him and growled as she pushed past him.

He closed the door, then crossed to stand beside his father. "What's going on? Am I in trouble?" he looked around at all of them frowning seriously at him. His eyes were wide with worry.

"My boy, I need your help with something." He turned at Tom's words. Tom walked over and put his hands on both his shoulders. "I require a bodyguard for my guest of honor. I would like to offer the position to you. Would you be willing to accept the offer?"

"Guest of honor? That,,, would be the girl? Right? Not the boys?" Scabior asked cautiously. Tom chuckled at him.

"Yes, I mean Miss Granger. Would you take the position? I'm told, by your father, that you are one of his best fighters." Scabior looked as though Christmas had come early. He nodded eagerly, glancing back at Fenrir excitedly. "Good. You, Flint and Pucey will accompany Malfoy and Zabini, as well as Potter and Weasley, on a shopping trip tomorrow. Narcissa and Bella wish to take Miss Granger out and acquire a wardrobe for her. Misses Parkinson, Bulstrode, Greengrass and Davis are going as well. I trust you will be able to defend them, should there be any trouble?"

Scabior nodded seriously. "You can count on me, sir. I'll keep them safe."

"Just one word of precaution. Please, for your own and Miss Granger's sake, please do not mention flaming chickens to her tomorrow. If you do, please make sure you are here in the back lawn before you do." Tom chuckled at the mischievous smile on the boy's face. Hermione had shown him a weakness and he fully intended to put it to use, keeping her attention entirely on himself. Even if it meant pissing her off to the point that she chased him around, trying to clobber him with a bloody huge stick!

After telling him the time to be ready and going over last minute security measures with Fenrir, Flint and Pucey, the three boys walked out talking and went back down to join the others. They walked out the door in time to hear Draco call Hermione a 'filthy little mudblood', then Scabior got to witness her right hook as she drew back and punched Malfoy in the nose, breaking it from the sounds of the crunch.

"Oi! What's going on here?" Flint demanded to know. Harry, Ron, and Blaise all three launched into telling them what happened. Meanwhile, Scabior had seen Hermione draw away from everyone, holding her hand. He walked over to her, inspecting it for broken bones. She had definitely broken at least a couple of knuckles. He took it, laid it flat on his palm and waved his other hand over it. Her eyes widened, watching him perform wand less magic.

"How do you wield wand less magic so effortlessly?" she asked, curious about his training. He didn't look to be much older than Flint but she couldn't recall seeing him at Hogwarts. He simply cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Fen taught me. He didn't want me depending strictly on a wand for self-protection. I never use it unless I have to, it's my last resort." He told her solemnly.

"If the wand is your last resort, what are your main defenses, aside from wand less magic?" she crinkled her brow.

He smiled wickedly as he allowed his incisors to extend. She was suddenly gasping as his fingernails extended into claws. He pointed at his teeth. "First defense." He held up his hands, claws extended. "Second defense." He allowed his fangs and claws to recede as he balled his fists. "Third defense." He slung his hand out and a ball of fire hit a bush about twenty feet away from them. "Fourth defense." He drew his wand. "Last resort." He shrugged at her, unconcerned at her sudden fear.

Hermione knew Scabior stayed right by Fenrir most of the time. She even remembered that Fenrir, himself, was a werewolf. However, she'd honestly had no clue whatsoever that Scabior was also a werewolf. Remembering the way he loved burying his face in her hair and taking deep breaths, while they were on their way here, though, should have been a dead giveaway. Werewolves tracked by scent and he'd apparently caught her scent months earlier, right after they'd stormed the Ministry.

"You, you're a werewolf?" her hand was trembling in his. He eyed her warily and nodded. "Are you a natural born wolf?"

"No, wizard born, bitten and abandoned when I was just a child. Fen's scouts found me, took me to him, he adopted me, been with his pack ever since." Scabior gave the short version of his story, tonelessly. He figured it was best that she find it out now, instead of being surprised on the night of the full moon, which was slowly approaching.

She cocked her head. "Fenrir wasn't the one who bit you? But he took you in? I thought werewolves only took in their own victims."

"Apparently you heard wrong. The one who bit me intended to kill me, very nearly did, according to Fen. By the time they got me to him, I was almost bled out, knew nothing but my own name and that I'd been left behind. The wolf was dead, a loner, so Fen told me I was his son now. Been there ever since, soon as this whole whatever's going on business is over with, going back there." Scabior stared at her with gold flecked blue eyes, that red streak of hair shining brightly against the rest of his dark hair. "By the way, most of Fen's pack, who WERE bitten by Fen, don't think of themselves as victims. They consider themselves as having a closer family than they came from and they consider Fen as their father!"

Hermione let out a sigh, hearing the angry hiss in his voice. Having him defend Fen put the older werewolf into an entirely different perspective for her. Evidently, Remus was one wizard who'd been bitten by Fen and did consider himself a victim. This boy, on the other hand, obviously adored him for taking him in. "There are some who do consider lycanthropy a cursed condition, nothing to celebrate about it."

"Well, then Lupin is better off in the human world, isn't he?!" the boy snapped at her. She was amazed that he actually knew who Remus was. "Yeah, I know who you meant! The elders tell stories about all the ones bitten! He's the only one who ever left! All the others stayed!" he backed up from her and walked away to join the other Snatchers, all of whom she now realized were also wolves, if the way they greeted and tussled with the young man was any indication.

Harry had been watching them, her and the werewolf. He, like Hermione, had been unaware of Scabior's condition. She had evidently said something to anger the boy. He'd walked off, almost gritting his teeth. Harry walked over. "What was that about?"

"I think I unintentionally insulted his father. You know Remus hates Fenrir. I didn't realize Scabior was also a wolf and he worships the ground Fen walks on for taking him in. I called bitten wizards victims. He let me know right quick that the only one Fen ever bit who left their pack was, in fact, Remus." She shook her head. She couldn't believe she was chastising herself for hurting HIS feelings. She should be reveling in the fact that she'd found a way to keep him at bay, just insult his father. On the other hand, Fenrir had been kind and decent to her, Harry and Ron while bringing them here. He'd made sure they were fed and not harmed. It was hard to insult someone to their son, knowing the person had treated them properly.

Harry covered his eyes and smiled. Hermione always had been slightly tactless. It was one of the things he loved about her because it showed that even she wasn't as perfect as everyone tried to make her out to be. "Don't worry. Maybe he isn't too angry with you. He might just stew over it awhile, then come back and pester you some more. I'd say, if he's still not speaking to you in the morning, you might want to tell him sorry."

"Are you and Ron going with us tomorrow? Please? I might be more comfortable with them now but I don't know if I can handle a shopping trip with a whole group of snakes." She confided. She was absently watching the wolves as she and Harry talked. Suddenly they began falling into a pile of bodies as they curled up against and around each other to go to sleep. Scabior was right in the center of the pile. Harry looked around at them and snorted. He nudged Hermione. "Personal boundaries." She face palmed as she remembered scolding him for that. 'If this was the way he was used to sleeping, with all his brothers curled up practically on top of him, then it was no wonder he had no clue about personal boundaries!'

The teens went in and found their own beds, soon after the wolves went to sleep. For some reason she wasn't sure of, Hermione took Harry with her and knocked on the door to the drawing room. Lucius opened the door, peering out at her. He held the door open as they came in. Hermione went straight over to Nagini. Waiting until the giant serpent raised her head, she gently hugged her and bid her good night. Then she walked over, shocking the room, as she also hugged 'Lord Voldemort', bidding him good night as well. The teens walked out, leaving behind a happily shocked Tom Riddle, smiling mistily.

The next morning found Hermione being roused out of bed way earlier than she was used to. Evidently, clothes shopping for witches was an all-day event, unlike the short ventures she took with her mother. She wondered how she was doing. It had broken her heart to put that Memory charm on her mother but she couldn't risk her life, she just couldn't. Her mother was all she had left.

Isabelle and Jack had tried for a child for so long before they had Hermione, they'd almost given up hope. It was actually Isabelle who had wanted a child so badly. True, Jack had been interested enough in being a parent, after Hermione was there, but he hadn't been the best of husbands before then. Isabelle had been honest but not spiteful as she, matter of factly, told Hermione that Jack had cheated on her several times before she came along. After Hermione was there, he'd managed to behave himself for a while but slowly had fallen back into some of his bad habits, going to bars after work, coming home drunk, picking fights with Isabelle over little nitpicky things. Then had come THAT NIGHT. The night that killed Hermione's love for her father. The officers had come to their door, telling Isabelle about the wreck. Her father had, once again, left the bar too drunk to drive but refusing a cab or designated driver. The younger officer had glanced up at the young girl perched on the stairs. She had suddenly seen into his thoughts as clearly as a picture. Her father had not been alone. He also had not been as drunk as they were telling her mother. His passenger had been 'distracting' him. As a result, he'd lost control of his car and crashed, killing them both. She'd hated him after that.

Her mother had been devastated. She had to try and cope with being a widowed mother as well as make arrangements for laying her husband to rest. To her consternation, she had discovered that Jack had a gambling problem and had used a large portion of their savings to pay off his many debts. There was barely enough to keep making their mortgage payments and buy Hermione's school supplies. Very soon, it was apparent that they were not going to be able to keep the house. It was put on the market and sold. They had found a two bedroom flat and Isabelle had gone back into the workforce. She had been a housewife for seven years, at the insistence of Jack. Now she was having to let Hermione stay in an after school program until she could go off work to pick her up.

Then she remembered the man she had met years earlier. He had claimed to be magical, calling her his 'beautiful little muggle'. She took Hermione to their family doctor, claiming Hermione's school had lost her health record. She was numb as the results came back. Hermione's blood type did match her partly but did not match Jack at all. Her one night stand had given her the child she so desperately wanted, not her husband. She remembered the man had told her, if she ever needed anything, anything at all, all she needed to do was write him, he'd come to her. She found that slip of paper from so long ago, that had caused so many fights with Jack in the aftermath of her third miscarriage, her walking in on him and a woman AGAIN, and her own adventure, and she sat down. She stared at it for a long time, debating. 'Would he want to know he had a child, would he want to be involved in said child's life and most importantly, would he even remember the 'beautiful little muggle' he had taken to bed that night?' she closed her eyes, prayed and picked up a pen. She wrote to him, telling him about Jack and her reasons for staying with him even after he had cheated on her. She told him about the accident that killed Jack and left them alone. Lastly she told him about Hermione and enclosed a picture. She sealed the letter and set it to the side. She had managed to be brave enough to write the letter. Now, all she had to do was get the courage to actually SEND the letter.

She went to take a shower, in preparation for work in next day. Hermione found the letter. Being a curious child and having never heard her mother speak of a Tom Marvolo Riddle before, she wondered who he was. He must be important for her mother to write him. She noticed it hadn't been stamped yet. Loving to help her mother as much as she could, Hermione put a stamp on the letter and took it downstairs to the mail boxes. Being unable to reach them but wanting to mail the letter for her, she stood uncertainly. Suddenly as a neighbor entered the building, so did an owl. It dropped down and landed on Hermione's shoulder. "I need to send this but I can't reach the box." She told the owl. It grabbed the letter in its beak and flew back out as soon as the door opened again. Had she known what to look for, she would have noticed the little strap around its leg, proclaiming it to be a Hogwarts owl.

Isabelle exited the shower in time to hear Hermione tell her she'd sent the letter for her. Her heart jumped into her throat. Now they played the waiting game. As she glanced at a calendar, she realized it had been seven years ago today that she had met, danced with and slept with the mysterious stranger, that night! As drunk as he'd been, no way would he remember her! Even if he did, there was no way he'd come back, not with the knowledge he'd have to acknowledge a child.

When Hermione asked who he was, her mother simply replied, "Just a stranger who helped me more than he even knew." Hermione didn't think any more about it. She and her mother had muddled along for a while, fearful that they would have to move yet again, to an even cheaper flat in a worse part of town. Then came the day that woman came, pronouncing Hermione a witch and claiming she was down for a school called Hogwarts. Isabelle apologized but told her she would be unable to let her go due to shortage of funds.

"My dear," said McGonagall, sternly, "the tuition is already paid. Not all students can afford schooling, that's why we have a scholarship program. Hermione qualifies and she is already showing her impressive knowledge. It would be a shame for her to miss out on this opportunity."

Isabelle smiled wanly. Of course, her girl was brilliant! She agreed and the teacher took Hermione shopping for her supplies. She thought 'what a shame that he was missing out on this', unaware that the man was damn near dead and totally unable to answer her cry for help. Hermione went to Hogwarts and never looked back. Had she thought about it, the name would have rung a bell as her best friend showed her the diary and told her of the young man in the memory. As it was, she shrugged then went to the next adventure.

Now, years later, she was finally remembering things from the past, memories the thought of her mother had dredged up. As soon as it struck her, she sat straight up in bed. It was totally wild and impossible but she had to wonder. 'Why had her mother been writing a letter to Tom Riddle?!' she needed to talk to Harry! She jumped out of bed as a little house elf popped into sight. Hermione squeaked in surprise. The elf stared up at her, calmly.

"I is Mims, little miss. I is here to help you get ready. I be a free elf. Master tells me to make sure I tells you that." Assuming that she meant Lucius Malfoy, Hermione nodded and accepted the little elf's help. She dressed in the light blue summer dress and robe that went over it, then sat down to attempt to tame her hair. No sooner had she begun than there was a knock and once again, Pansy, Millicent, Daphne and Tracy entered to help her with her hair and makeup. She was more comfortable with them today and they all set off towards the stairs, laughing and giggling. As they reached the bottom step, the outside door opened and the boys, with Scabior, walked in.

They all entered the dining room in one big group. This time, though, the boys didn't separate from the girls. Instead they paired off down the table with Scabior ending up beside Hermione, Harry and Ron on the other side of her. Scabior hadn't said a single word to her yet. He'd watched her walk towards them in the blue dress robes silently. She had no clue what thoughts might be running through his mind. She laid her hand over his and, under the clatter of silverware, said quietly, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to insult Fenrir yesterday nor did I intend to hurt your feelings." He still didn't verbally respond but he moved his hand to lace their fingers together on the table. It was enough.

She turned to Harry. "I need to tell you something. There IS something going on here. Tonight, when we get back from shopping, I'll tell what I remembered this morning." Harry nodded quietly.

After breakfast, they walked to the main lobby and lined up at the Floo. It would take them directly to the Leaky Cauldron. They were going to the muggle shops first, then coming back to Diagon Alley. As they were walking into the green flames, Hermione was pulled flush against Scabior once again. She looked up at him, in time for him to peck her on the cheek. "Just don't insult my dad anymore, yeah?" she smiled and slipped an arm around his back, nodding at him. It would take a while for him to forgive or forget her careless words about Fenrir.

The next few hours were some of the longest Hermione swore she'd ever spent just looking at clothes! Within an hour the boys were bored to tears and finding any excuse to try and slip off from the group. They were walking down the center isle of the mall when Hermione caught sight of a little gift shop she'd never seen or heard of before. She grabbed Scabior's arm and tugged him over to the door. They ducked inside and right away she found what she was looking for, a small pendant in the shape of a snake. Then she found another in the shape of a wolf and purchased it as well. As they left the shop, Scabior suddenly snapped to attention. He carefully looked around but didn't see any visible cause for his unease. She hung onto his arm, sensing that he wouldn't like her being apart from him.

"Do you trust me?" he looked at her seriously. She nodded. He pulled her close and kept her tucked under his arm as he walked quickly to catch them up to the rest of the group. She didn't say a word, knowing he was concentrating on her safety at the moment. They caught to everyone at the entrance and turned as a group beak to the Leaky Cauldron where they would pass through the back wall and go to Tattings and Twilfit from there. Once at the Cauldron, Scabior motioned Flint and Pucey near. He muttered to them, motioning back the way they had just come from. The boys straightened alertly, palming their wands. They passed through the wall into the Alley. Once the members of the group began sparking interest, people were noticeably eyeing them, possibly wondering why the Trio were there with a group of Slytherins.

Inside Tattings and Twilfit, they were looking at yet MORE clothes. She was starting to wonder if maybe, either Narcissa or Bellatrix, they weren't going overboard, buying her THIS many clothes. Half of which, she doubted she'd even have a chance to wear! At last they seemed ready to wind the trip down. Narcissa suggested that they might want to stop by Fortesque's while they were here. Maybe the boys would like to go to a couple of their own shops.

Hermione was watching the three older boys. Ever since they had come through the wall, they had been acting strange. Almost as if they thought they were about to be attacked. She drifted over and brushed up against Scabior, testing a theory. He looked down at her and put her behind him. She inconspicuously drew her wand. If Scabior was so preoccupied that he didn't take an opportunity to plaster her to his side, there was definitely something about to go down.

There was a sudden crash as the windows were blown in. Scabior grabbed her and ducked down. "Everyone, get down now! We're under attack!"

"Who is it?" she whispered urgently.

"Maybe the Order, maybe the Ministry, either way they'll be trying to get you lot back." He crawled over to where he could look out the door. From outside came a voice familiar to the Trio. "Stop! No more curses. Harry, Ron and Hermione are in there, don't forget! Once we have them out, then we can fight!" yelled Kingsley Shacklebolt.

"Kingsley! We're alright! You have to let us go! We're not in any danger!" Hermione yelled out the door.

"Hermione? What do you mean?" Kingsley questioned her.

"We're not captives, we're guests! Please, trust me, you have to let us go back, please!" she begged. Suddenly there was a blur as someone shot out of the shop past them. One glance was all it took to realize that, once again, Ron Weasley had bailed on them. Hermione checked on Harry. He was actually crouched down, wand out, in front of Narcissa Malfoy. He and Bella were side by side, making sure the Malfoy matriarch was protected.

"Harry, Harry, come out here. We're here. We'll protect you!" yelled Sirius Black, crouching beside Lupin and Tonks.

"Didn't you hear what she said? We're guests, not in danger. It'd be rude to run out on them!" Harry yelled back, his eyes fastened on Hermione's. She smiled in relief. At least, one of her friends was willing to stick around! One of the shop employees appeared in an inner door. "We have a Floo connection to Malfoy Manor if you want to take it."

Scabior looked at his group. He was, in fact, the only experienced fighter there. Marcus and Aidan were good brawlers but they weren't experienced against Aurors or the Order. Draco and Blaise were still students, as were all the girls except Granger this year. No doubt, in her prime, Bella had been a good fighter but she was still recovering from fourteen years in Azkaban. Hermione and Harry, though, had been throwing hexes left and right at him and the boys when they chased them. It was only after she'd seen they were well and truly trapped that she had turned and fired on Harry. Three fighters, one experienced and two semi experienced weren't what he'd call good odds. Fen had always told him only to back a winning play. If he didn't think he could win, fold and let the fight go till another day.

He nodded at the employee. "Get them moving that way. I'll keep them distracted." He leaned out, flung his hand and slung a non-verbal Stupefy outside. He didn't hear anyone yell out so it was blocked or never came close to anyone. He certainly felt the Reducto someone sent back, though. It blasted the wall, feeling like a hard punch to his back. He motioned Hermione to follow the rest of them but she stubbornly stayed right beside him. Soon they were firing hexes beck and forth. It seemed that surely one of those fighting beside Kingsley would have realized they were shooting harmless hexes at them and called a halt. No such luck, apparently, as the mixed group of Aurors and Order members attempted to apprehend them. Just as they started for the inner door, an Auror burst through the front door, aimed at Hermione and shot a very familiar curse!

"Sectumsempra!" he yelled. Scabior snarled at him, lunging forward and diving at Hermione. She managed to get him back on his feet and through the inner door as she Stunned the Auror. She pulled him into the green flames of the Floo and screamed, "Malfoy Manor!"

They stumbled out of the Floo. "Professor Snape! Professor Snape! Where are you?! I need you! Hurry!" Hermione was screaming desperately. Tom was in disguise and rushed over to her. "Child!"

"He's hurt, please, we need Professor Snape! Please get him here, he knows the counter curse! It was Sectumsempra, I don't know the counter curse, hurry! The Auror was firing at ME! He took the curse for ME!" Hermione was cradling Scabior against her. He was clinging to her, those beautiful blue eyes she was rapidly becoming fascinated with changing over to pure gold as he fought the effects of the curse.

Fenrir, having been outside, rushed through the door and yelled out angrily at the sight of his youngest pup, bleeding out on the carpet. "Who did this? Who was it? I'll kill them!" as he rushed over and knelt beside his boy. Draco was kneeling, beside his father, hands shaking as he remembered his own experience with this particular curse. Harry was raging as much as Fenrir, wanting to go back and rip the Auror a new one for hurting Scabior this way. They hadn't even TRIED to hurt the Aurors or the Order! There was absolutely no call for that guy to have used THAT curse! He and Fenrir both were even more enraged at learning the guy had actually been aiming to hit Hermione!

Snape had gone back to Hogwarts and was in a teachers meeting when he received the summons. Leaving the rest of the meeting to McGonagall, he rushed back, wondering what was going on. He burst through the Floo and stumbled to a halt at the sight of Scabior, Fenrir's little Scabior, his favorite pup, covered in blood from HIS curse. They had managed to remove the boy's leather trench coat, his vest and his shirt, leaving him bare from the waist up. He was alarmingly pale, his lycanthropy unable to heal the worst gash across his chest. It was clear Snape had arrived in the nick of time. Five more minutes and the boy would have died from blood loss. As it was, he still wasn't sure if he could pull the boy back from the brink of death. It would depend on how strong the boy was and if he had the will to bring himself back to them. He knelt and began the sing song chant that halted the blood flow and reversed his curse.


	8. the secret is out

The secret is out!

Scabior and Hermione have a moment. Harry and Hermione talk. Hermione finds a letter from her past. Secrets are revealed.

Hermione knelt beside Scabior as Professor Snape performed his counter curse. She let out a sigh of relief as his breathing seemed to even out. She still had him tugged against her. Scabior, having realized this, had an arm slung around her waist, in case she decided to try and shove him away. His eyes had begun to loser their amber color fading back to blue as the pain receded. All the death eaters were watching Hermione. They all knew how the boy felt about her but she kept sending him mixed signals. Half rye time she acted like she hated him, then it seemed like she was getting flirty with him. She had the boy wrapped around her finger but didn't know it.

Snape straightened up as he said, "I've done all I can do. He's breathing easily and alert. The wounds are stitched. Even with the werewolf venom, he still needs to rest and let it heal. More than likely, he'll be up and around again tomorrow."

Fenrir moved to pick Scabior up and carry him out to his bed but Hermione stopped him. "I'll watch over him tonight. Put him upstairs, in my room. Harry, you can stay there, too. We need to go over the draft together. I'd like your input on some of the issues."

Harry nodded and followed Fenrir out. Hermione went over, hugged Nagini again and told Tom, "Please don't be mad at him. He did protect us. He got us all out of there safely. He would have been alright, too, but he jumped in front of that curse. It was actually meant for me."

Tom hugged her. "I knew that as soon as you exited the Floo. I'm not mad at him. I'm quite proud of him, actually. From what Draco tells me, you and him together were quite the sight to see."

Hermione giggled." Well, I couldn't just let him have all the fun, could I?" Tom chuckled as he sent her on her way.

Tom looked at his followers as she left. "Well, I think young Scabior is finally getting through her defenses." He knelt and spoke to Nagini. "What do you think of young Scabior? Is he good for sister?" Nagini nodded her head. The young Snatcher would hunt field mice and rabbits for her. She liked him a lot. Tom smiled and hugged her.

Upstairs, Fenrir was about to lay Scabior on the couch in her room. Hermione ran in. "No, the bed, he'll be more comfortable. Don't worry. We'll have Harry here with us." Fen's brows shot up but he put the boy on the bed. Scabior grinned up at him. Fen shook his head and chortled as he left the room.

Hermione walked over and reached into her bag. She pulled out a vial and held it out to Scabior. He looked at her questioningly. "It's a Healing potion with a bit of Dreamless Sleep mixed into it. You'll heal even faster. I'll be right here beside you, I promise." He hesitated, then took the potion from her. Harry and Hermione watched as he swallowed it. He handed the empty vial back and held his arm out. She smiled at him, climbing onto the bed and settling down beside him. Harry clambered up beside him on the other side. She watched the young man settle himself and fall asleep.

Harry looked at her. "Ok. You looked serious about something this morning. Spill it."

"Harry, I was dreaming of my mother last night and thinking of her this morning. I remembered something from years ago, long before I started at Hogwarts. I had truly forgotten until I found this letter this morning, in my bag. My mother must have put it there a couple days before I put the Memory charm on her." She pulled a letter from under her pillow. It was sealed and dated two days before the Memory charm was applied. "I keep all of my letters from her and it was in the middle of them. I've been afraid to open it. But what I was going to tell you was I remembered another letter, from years ago. Harry, she wrote a letter to, to-" here she stopped. She was afraid of what kind of reaction she'd get when Harry found out WHO the letter had been addressed to!

"Hermione, who? Who was it addressed to?" Harry waited with bated breath. If it was this hard for her to tell him, she must truly think he wouldn't forgive her!

"The letter was addressed to Tom Marvolo Riddle, Harry. She wrote a letter to Tom Riddle!" Hermione whispered. She snuck a look at Harry. His face was blank.

"Voldemort? Your mother wrote a letter to Voldemort? Why?" he asked, bewildered.

"I don't know. I didn't read it and it was only ever that one letter." Hermione was just as bewildered as Harry.

"But it was addressed to Tom? Tom Riddle? Lord Voldemort, Tom Riddle?" Harry questioned.

"I'm assuming it was Lord Voldemort, Tom Riddle. He's the only Tom Riddle I've ever heard of." Hermione shrugged helplessly.

"Hermione, I think you need to open that letter. You need to read it. You said there IS something going on here. This could have something to do with it! Read the letter!"

Hermione carefully unsealed the letter. Then she stopped. "I can't do it, Harry! I'm scared!"

Harry held out his hand. "Give it. I'll read it. I'll let you know if it's anything worth being upset over."

Hermione handed him the letter and watched his face as he read it. Harry silently read the letter, then he closed it up and looked at her. "It's nothing bad. It can wait until tomorrow. But you have to promise me you'll read it tomorrow!"

Hermione breathed easier. It couldn't have been too bad then. She'd been worrying over nothing! She laid her head on Scabior's shoulder, snuggled up to him and reached for Harry's hand.

Harry laid the letter on Scabior's chest where she would see it and settled down, holding Hermione's hand across the boy's chest. He wondered how badly she'd want to kill him for not telling her the truth about the letter. She was going to go MENTAL when she read it. He was still shell shocked at it himself. He stared at his friend wondering how he was going to keep her from going off the deep end. Maybe he was worrying for nothing. Surely the man intended to tell her soon. Maybe he should tell her the letter was nothing, just an ordinary letter from her mother.

Downstairs, unaware of the drama that would erupt in the morning, Tom was talking to the other Death Eaters. Well, it was more like fretting. He was feeling guilty that he hadn't told Hermione the truth yet. "I can't keep this from her forever! Sooner or later, I have to tell her! Shouldn't I?"

"Tom, she's just beginning to trust Lord Voldemort, I'm not sure if she's ready for her father, Tom Riddle, yet." Lucius could see how much Tom yearned to tell Hermione the truth. "Besides, she's already starting to put things together on her own. It's not every day the girl gets an entire wardrobe bought for her by someone she barely knows, simply to reward her for helping with a project!"

"She's almost ready, Tom. Besides, if you push it too soon, she'll keep her mum under wraps and we know how much you're looking forward to seeing her again." Narcissa spoke up quietly as Bella nodded in agreement.

"Your right, your right. I'm just nervous about how she'll react to the news." Tom couldn't help but pace around his office. Nagini tried to follow him around but finally gave up trying to keep pace with him. She sought out her sunspot and curled up for a nap, dreaming of field mice and how nice sister's scratchies were. Eventually everyone settled in for the night.

The next morning, Hermione was the second one to open her eyes, awakened by a thump and mild cursing. She saw Scabior turned on his side away from her and peering over the edge of the bed. "Take that, Potter! This is MY spot!" she giggled as she saw his legs drawn up and realized he must have kicked Harry off the bed! Harry sat up, his messy hair even more unruly and flipped Scabior off.

He picked up the letter, a determined look on his face, and handed it to Hermione. He then sat down in a chair drawn up beside the bed. He had lain awake for a while the previous night, wrestling with thoughts about Hermione and that letter. He soon realized it didn't make a whit of difference, to him, WHO she was related to! She was still his little sister Hermione! He knew there would be loads of people, Ron and the Weasley family among others, who would reject her once the news came out and, as big as this news was, it WOULD come out sooner or later! He would stand by her through thick and thin and, as soon as she calmed down, he would let her know he wasn't going anywhere!

Watched curiously by Scabior, who pulled her against him, Hermione bit her lip and opened the letter. Sure enough, it was from her mother. Hermione knew, with that first line, it was going to be an emotional letter.

"_My dear baby, Hermione. Let me start off by saying I'm sorry and I love you so very much! This is something I should have told you a long time ago and in person, not in a letter. As you know, your father and l tried for quite some time to have a child. We had already been trying for three years before I was able to conceive. I've told you of things he did beforehand but what I didn't tell you was something I did before also. You should have had siblings, my dear. If things had worked out as planned, you would have been our fourth child. Instead you were our first child. Yes, there were three miscarriages. I had just barely gotten past the third one when I went to surprise your father at work one day. I was ready to try again and I thought he was, too. I walked in on him,, with his secretary! Needless to say, I was devastated! I HATED him, I wanted him to suffer as I had. I left him there, yelling for forgiveness, Hermione! I drove all over town before I wound up at a bar. Yes, a bar! I had never been inside one before but that didn't stop me from walking in and taking a seat. All I could think of was drowning my sorrow. I just literally wanted to forget my whole married life. I didn't want to be Isabelle Granger, married to a serial cheater. I just wanted to be Isabelle, just Isabelle. Nothing more, nothing less. I was on, I believe, my third drink when HE walked in. Hermione, darling, trust me when I say the one feature you truly took from me is your riotously beautiful, curly hair. Everything else is him made over. By him, I don't mean Jack Granger. Your true father's name is Tom Marvolo Riddle. We struck up a conversation, Tom and I. He was very witty and very successful at taking my mind off my problems. I told him I just wanted to be free of my life, just for the night. I just wanted my youth back, no marriage, no lost children, nothing! He happily gave himself over to the task. We danced and drank and danced some more. He kept calling me his beautiful little Muggle. We spent the night together, Hermione. It was exactly how I wanted it to be, no strings attached. He was gone when I woke up but he had left me a paper, Hermione. It was his name and address. He had told me if I ever needed anything, anything at all, simply write to him and he would come back. It had been fun but now I needed to return to my real life. It was time to face up to my problems. When I went back home, fully determined to pack up and leave, Jack was waiting for me. He demanded to know where I'd been. I told him it was none of his damned business, considering what he had been doing! He had the grace to look ashamed then. I told him it was over and I was leaving! He begged me to reconsider. He told me that was the last time, that if I would just stay with him, it was the last time I'd ever have to worry about him cheating on me. For a while, he actually seemed serious about it. We found out about you and I was scared to death of losing another child. We didn't tell anyone about you until we had passed the first three critical months. Once I reached the fourth month, I became cautiously optimistic that maybe, just maybe, I'd finally have a child. The rest of the pregnancy seemed to fly by and before I knew it, we were at the hospital and you were on the way. I didn't realize, at that time, that I had a magical child but while I was delivering you, all the lights on the labor and delivery floor went out and stayed out for the last two hours before you came out. When you finally popped into the doctors hands, the lights came back on. You were screaming at the top of your lungs. The doctors told me I was lucky to have you. Years ago, I'd been in an accident that damaged my insides. It was thought, then, that I'd never have children. That's why I was so desperate to have a child. Jack called you his little princess. He really did love you, Hermione, if you doubt anything else, never doubt that! He and I had our problems with each other but he always loved you, from the moment we knew you were on the way. I never thought anything about having you right after that night. Simply because Jack had told me he was also ready and we started trying for a child at that time. It wasn't until later, much later, that I began questioning the fact of your paternity. Everything seemed back to normal for a while. We were happy, Jack was staying home with us and you were just adorable! Then shortly after you first displayed, what was it that woman called it? Accidental magic? Jack began picking fights over everything. Just little things at first, then he began demanding, every time I went out, to know where I'd been, who I'd seen, what I'd been doing and so on. I got tired of constantly being questioned and that's when he demanded to know, again, what I'd done that night after I left his office! I was angry and getting fed up with his jealous tirades, Hermione, so I told him. Everything. Tom, the bar, even having a way to get in touch with him. Jack immediately demanded that I get rid of the address and I refused. The he told me, if I ever did anything like that ever again, he'd take you and I'd never see you ever again! I had to swear to HIM that I'D never do anything like that ever again. Then I told him fair was only fair! If I had to swear, he did, too. Oh, he really didn't like THAT! I told him I didn't care what he thought anymore. If he was that sick of us, he needed to just leave and be done with it! He began backpedaling then. He probably knew he'd almost pushed me too far. It was an uneasy settlement after that. I was still raging mad and he was tiptoeing around me. By this time, you were almost six years old and he was starting to fall back into some of his bad habits. He began going to the bars again. Apparently he also felt the need to start drinking. But at least he wasn't coming in swimming in the perfume of other women. Yet. This was how his affairs had always started before. I knew there was a good chance that, sooner or later, he was going to end up cheating again. Right after your seventh birthday, the police came to our door one night. There had been an accident. He was dead. He'd left a bar, drunk off his ass, and run his car into a tree. After the funeral, it was revealed that he'd been heavily gambling, very heavily gambling. When it was all said and done, we barely had enough to live on. I'm so sorry, darling. I never wanted to leave you in that after school program but I had no choice. If we were going to keep the house, I had to get back into the workforce. It was hard and I cursed him every day for keeping me from working but he'd wanted a stay at home mom for his little princess. Of course, I was delighted to stay at home then. Going back to work after seven years was hard but it had to be done. I couldn't let anything happen to you. His parents had wanted me to let them have you, something about he was worried I would hurt you somehow. I told them no. If I had lost you, Hermione, I probably would have gone postal and gone on a killing rage to get my baby back! They kept on and I knew that I'd have to be very careful or they would take you at the first chance they got! My parents tried to help as much as they could but they were in much the same boat as we were, barely getting by. When we lost the house was the point when I really did think it might be better, for you, if I did let his parents take you. But still I couldn't bring myself to let you go. By your ninth birthday was when I thought about your paternity. You didn't look like Jack and his parents were making insinuations that HE'D been 'trying' to leave ME for years because of MY indiscretion, not his own! That's when I took you to be tested. As it turned out, you weren't Jack's child. As the only other man I'd been with was Tom, I knew he was your father. I hated to, I really did, but I knew if I was going to keep you, it was time to swallow my pride. I found his address and I wrote to him. I told him the whole story and enclosed a picture of you. But then I didn't have the nerve to send it yet. I almost cried when you told me you had sent it. But we never did hear from him. I'm sorry, darling, I tried. It was just too late. Too much time had passed. He'd either forgotten all about me or simply thrown the letter away after he learned of you. I'm not sure which and, at this point, I'm not sure you would even want to know him at all. I just thought I should tell you this, in the off chance that you might possibly be able to get in touch with him after you're older. _

_I love you so very much, my darling baby girl. Your mum, Isabelle._

Harry watched as her face grew paler and paler. Her eyes filled up and spilled over with tears. Suddenly, she screamed and jumped off the bed, running for the door. "Hermione!" he yelled.

He jumped up and looked at Scabior, who was sitting, staring open mouthed after Hermione. "Come on, we gotta catch her before she kills him or gets herself killed!"

Scabior snapped to attention. Jumping up, he started stomping his boots on. "Bloody hell, Potter, what was that all about? And where the devil are my clothes?!"

"Your clothes are still likely downstairs. Hurry!" he ran out, Scabior on his heels. They ran down the hall in time to see her wild hair start down the stairs. As they were almost to the bottom, they saw her throw the door open. They got to the door in time to see her jump, screaming and crying, at Lord Voldemort!

Tom was leaning against his desk, idly chatting with Lucius and Severus. Fenrir was outside with the rest of his boys. Dolohov, Yaxley and the Lestranges had yet to wake up. Narcissa, Bella and the girls were planning a dinner party to introduce Hermione into Wizarding society as Tom's daughter. Draco and the other boys were down at the Quidditch pitch. Suddenly, they heard a scream from upstairs. They looked at each other. 'Surely young Scabior wasn't already winding Hermione up again, so soon after being injured?' Then they heard running footsteps. Tom quickly disguised himself as the person ran down the steps. They could hear two more sets of running feet as well. Tom was totally caught off guard when Hermione burst in the door and ran at him, screaming and crying!

"Liar! Liar! You lied to her, you lied! You told her all she needed to do was write to you, you'd be there! You lied! Why? Why? I hate you! I hate you! You lied to her! She wrote you! She was desperate, she was almost about to lose me! You lied! Why?! Why?! Why couldn't you just ignore her?! Why!" Lucius had jumped forward and wrapped his arms around Hermione. "He lied, Lucius! He lied! He lied to my mother! Why?! Why?!" she hung from his arms crying with anger and pain. Lucius backed up until he felt an armchair behind him. He sat down, holding her tightly, crooning softly to her. It reminded him of when Draco was younger and pitching fits. Tom was standing there, looking shocked. Fen had come running. The older wizards rushed in, wands out, prepared for a fight. Narcissa and Bella ran in.

Harry came up to Tom and held out a letter. "Read this. It'll explain why that just happened." Tom took the letter. He fell back against his desk as he realized the letter was from Isabelle. Given the strong reaction from Hermione, he was almost afraid to see what she had written about him! He read the letter and was floored. Isabelle had actually tried to reach him! True, it was years after the fact but, still, she'd tried! He was stunned when he figured out it was only a handful of years before he'd started trying to come back.

Narcissa moved forward and laid her hand on Hermione's shoulder. "Hermione? Come with us. You're upset. Come with us, dear." Hermione, still crying her eyes out, got up and followed her out of the room.

Tom had sat on the floor in front of his desk, hands covering his face. Nagini, sensing his distress, slithered over and coiled up beside him. "I'm ok, Nagini. Go. Check on sister, please. Let me know how she's doing." Nagini quickly slid out of the room, in search of sister.


	9. So now she knows

So now she knows

Hermione has finally figured out the secret surrounding her and Voldemort. She has mixed feelings about this. Two parents help her see it from Tom's point of view.

As Narcissa and Bella led Hermione into the sitting room, they both kept an arm around her. They didn't know what had brought that outburst on but suspected she had finally figured out the reason she was here. They sat down on the couch with her and just let the young woman cry herself out. There would be plenty of time for questions after she was calm.

Back in the drawing room, Tom was still on the floor. "Merlin! I should have told her last night, I knew I should have! She hates me now!" he still clutched Isabelle's letter in his hands. 'Gods, if only he'd just listened to his own instincts! He'd seriously thought about just hauling Isabelle back to the Wizarding world with him! They could have been happy, Hermione would have grown up knowing he was her dad!' He hoped and prayed that she'd please give him to chance to explain what happened.

Scabior, sitting beside Harry, poked Harry. "What the bloody hell was that little fit about? Why was she mad at him? Who is her mum and why'd the Dark Lord lie to her?" Scabior was confused. He knew the girl had read a letter but he didn't know what it said.

"The Dark Lord is Hermione's dad. She thinks that he ignored her mum's call for help, years ago. He didn't but she hasn't thought it through enough to realize that yet." Harry whispered.

"Merlin, he's her dad! And you lot have been letting me flirt with her, right in front of him?! Damn, I'm lucky I still got bollocks!" Scabior yelled. His outburst was enough to break the tension in the room. Lucius laughed, he had to give it to Fenrir. His pup definitely kept things lively!

He motioned to Fenrir. "C'mon. We're the only two experienced dads in the room. Let's go see if we can talk to her. Help her understand why Tom was afraid to tell her yet." They left the room, in search of Hermione.

They located the sitting room and entered. Narcissa and Bella moved back, assuming that Tom had sent them. Nagini had got there just ahead of them and was coiled around Hermione's feet and legs, her head in Hermione's lap. They sat down on either side of her and each took a hand. Hermione had her head laid back against the sofa and tears were still streaming down her face.

"Hermione, sweetheart, what did you mean when you said your mother almost lost you?" Lucius asked calmly.

"When I was younger. My dad, Jack Granger, he wasn't very nice to my mum. They had bad fights because he would go out and drink. Then he would jump on her every time she went for groceries or anything like that. He was going to take me and go back to his mum and dads house. He wasn't going to let mum see me anymore. He acted like she was going to hurt me!" Hermione rolled her eyes. "Anyway, he died, right after I turned seven, in a car crash. The cops lied to my mum. They didn't do it to hurt her, I suppose they thought they were protecting us. They came to the door and told her he was drunk, too drunk to drive and he had wrecked. I read the younger man's thoughts, though." At this point, Lucius and Fenrir exchanged a quick wide eyed look. "He wasn't drunk. He'd left the bar with a woman. They were fooling around, he got distracted and wrecked, killing them both. His folks came and took over arrangements for the funeral. They did their level best to get mum to give me up to them. She refused. He had hidden a fairly bad gambling habit and after the funeral, living expenses and debts were paid off, there was just enough to pay rent, that and buy groceries."

"Mum had to put me into an after school program while she went back to work. She did her best, her parents tried to help out as much as they could. They'd keep me anytime they could to help save expenses but they weren't much better off than we were. She managed to hang onto the house until I was eight, then we lost it and had to move. His parents tried, again, to get her to let them have me but I begged her to let me stay with her. They were trying to tell her that HE had been trying to get out because SHE was the one fooling around!"

"After my ninth birthday, she took me to have some tests done. She called it allergy tests but I'm not allergic to anything. Soon after that, she wrote a letter. I asked her who Tom Marvolo Riddle was and she said he was just a friend she hadn't seen in a while. I went to mail the letter for her but I couldn't reach the box. The strangest thing happened then. An owl flew into our building. He landed on my shoulder and wouldn't leave until I gave him the letter." Fen and Lucius exchanged another look. "I told mum and she thanked me. I think she was waiting for a letter back but it never came. So we kept muddling along until my Hogwarts letter was brought by Professor McGonagall. Mum told her she wouldn't be able to send me. She could barely afford my current schooling. The professor told her there was a special fund set up for students who needed it. After that, I went to Hogwarts. I forgot the name Tom Riddle or that my mum had ever written him a letter."

"So, your mum wrote him between your ninth and tenth birthday? But he never answered?" Lucius asked, just to clarify the situation. Hermione nodded. Having told him the story, she was already starting to calm down.

"My dear, think about it. Why wouldn't he answer the letter of a woman he had actively given his name and address to?" Lucius looked at her. She was a bright girl. Surely she'd figure it out.

"My mum thought he'd either forgotten about her or just didn't want to get back in touch because of me. I was so hoping he'd have answered, though." She thought back to that time, how hopeful she'd been. She'd sat by her window every night for a month, waiting, watching the parking lot for a strange car to pull in.

"Let's not forget, Hermione, this is Lord Voldemort, the Dark Lord, we're talking about." Fenrir said, from her other side, seeing what Lucius was trying to do. Hermione reached down, absently giving Nagini scratchies as she thought. Suddenly she gasped and sat up. "Oh, Merlin! Lucius! Fen!" she looked at one, then the other. "When, how soon after my mum, he-?" she couldn't seem to find the right words for what she wanted to say. Lucius and Fenrir exchanged triumphant looks. She'd realized it!

She dug into the beaded bag that she constantly kept on her belt. "I have a book in here. It talks about important Wizarding events!" she pulled out the book and flopped through it. When she found what she was looking for, she frowned. "Lucius? I was born September nineteenth, nineteen seventy nine. That means he and mum would have been together in late December, early January of that year. Had he already heard the prophecy about Harry when he met my mum? Or was he even hunting them yet? But he couldn't have been. Wait, Harry was born July the next year! He could have already heard it! That might have been why he was in the Muggle world to start with!"

"Hermione dear, I was there the night Tom received your mother's letter. The next day, when he was telling us the contents, he mentioned he was only in the planning stages of our political revolution. He hadn't heard the prophecy. If I'm remembering correctly, he didn't hear about it until a few months into nineteen eighty. That would have been well after your birth. None of us knew about your mum, Hermione. We knew he seemed preoccupied all of seventy nine but we just assumed it was because he was trying to get his political reforms written and pushed through. He admitted last night he'd seriously thought of just hauling your mum back with him, disregarding her marriage." Lucius rested a hand on her back.

Hermione sniggered at that thought. "He, uh, might have had a, uh, bit of a problem there. My mum is pretty stubborn! Grand mum always said that's where I got my stubborn streak. Mum had her mind set on being a good wife and mother. Not even Tom could have persuaded her otherwise. She didn't give up on Jack until that last big fight they had. Even then, she wouldn't have left him, only because of me. She would have stayed right there, in a loveless marriage, just to make sure I was able to grow up with both parents."

"Merlin, what he must think of me now! I screamed at him like a fishwife! I told him I hated him! Called him a liar! Gods!" she moaned, hiding her face in her hands.

"He wasn't mad at you, Hermione. He was mad at himself for waiting so long to tell you who he was!" Fen told her after Lucius nodded as if to say 'your turn.'

"Why did he wait so long? He's been back since our fourth year. Why hasn't he contacted me before now? Or mum?" Hermione asked suspiciously.

"He didn't want to scare you away. Think of how he looks. Can you honestly say you wouldn't have been terrified of that man, turning up at Hogwarts, demanding to see his daughter, only to realize he's talking about you?" Fen asked gently.

"You're right. I would have been terrified. Somehow he doesn't seem too bad anymore. Maybe that's because he's not trying to kill Harry anymore." Hermione smiled and narrowed her eyes. "Of course, that doesn't mean Harry is safe because he read that letter last night and DIDN'T tell me what it said! Harry Potter, you're dead meat when I get my hands on you!" she jumped up and screamed as she ran for the door. Fenrir and Lucius raced after her, laughing as they heard Potter scream his apology while running away from her. "Hermione!"

She stopped and looked back. "When you think you're ready to meet your father, come back and knock on the door, all right?" Lucius asked. She nodded and resumed chasing Harry down the hall, Scabior right on her heels. Fenrir and Lucius went back into Tom's office. Tom looked up hopefully. Lucius smiled. "Give her about an hour or two of trying to kill Potter. I think we'll be introducing her to you soon."

Tom let out a sigh of relief. It would be so refreshing to not have to put on his Dark Lord persona each time, having to hide his true self from his daughter! For now, he just had to be patient, just a little bit longer.

Harry ran out to the same large yard where she chased Scabior just a day or two earlier. He was laughing and telling her he was sorry. "I didn't think you'd be too upset. You already get along with him, Hermione."

"But Harry," she paused, trying to find the right words. "He's still the Dark Lord. He still killed your parents. How can you want me to forget that? Aren't you mad at me because of him?"

"First of all, you are you, Hermione. I'd be stupid to be mad at you because of him. Second, yes, he killed my parents and has tried several times to get me killed but he's still your father. I know how much you love your mother but I also know how you miss having a dad and, admit it, Hermione, you're a daddy's girl." Harry laughed at the look on her face.

"I'm not sure if I'm ready to be a daddy's girl to the Dark Lord, Harry! This is the wizard who wants to take over the world." She sat down on a bench, Harry and Scabior on each side of her.

"I'm not so sure he wants to rule the world, Hermione. I think he just wants to make Wizarding Britain more secure. I was reading the draft last night after you fell asleep. I was actually trying to see how I felt about my adopted sister's real dad being the Dark Lord and I concluded that I really don't care. He is who he is, but you are Hermione, my sister! You've always been there for me and I KNOW there are times I should have been there for you and I wasn't! Don't say no, Hermione! You and both know a few times I wasn't there to support you or I went against you in favor of Ron. We both know that! But this, this is important and, Hermione, I know how much it would mean to you, having a father again, I know! I just want you to know, it doesn't matter what you do or don't decide to do with this, I'm here for you." Harry threw his arms around her and held her as she cried.

Now that she knew Harry was behind her, it was up to Hermione to decide whether or not she was ready to accept the Dark Lord as her dad. She knew this was going to be the most important decision she ever made. It had to be the right decision because it also involved her mother. She just knew, if she accepted that Tom Riddle was her dad, the next thing he would ask was for her to bring her mother back. She knew her mother, from 'Monica Wilkins' letters, wasn't seeing anyone in Australia. As far as she knew, her mum hadn't been dating anyone in Britain. But she wasn't sure that mum was ready to be brought into the Wizarding world either and that's where Tom would want to be, especially with the new treaty being offered.

"Well, well, look what we have here, the Chosen one, a Snatcher and a Mudblood. Wonder if that's why the great freckled ginger left? Because the Snatcher stole his girl?" Hermione popped up off the bench, glaring angrily at Malfoy.

"Shut it, Malfoy, before she breaks your nose again!" Harry growled.

Malfoy frowned at Granger. It looked as though she'd been crying. "What's the matter, Mudblood? Missing mummy?"

Harry knew he wouldn't be able to grab her in time. He and the other Slytherins face palmed as Scabior watched in confusion. Hermione balled her fist and punched Draco in the nose. "Mudblood that, you filthy little cockroach!"

She turned around and stormed off, Harry and Scabior once more following behind her. From behind she could her Draco sputtering angrily. "My father will hear about this!"

"Good, you tell your father! My father will hear about this, too!" she yelled over her shoulder.

She led the boys up the stairs to her room. Once there she crawled onto her bed and laid her head down on the fluffy pillows. Harry motioned Scabior over to her. He took the armchair himself. The Snatcher had a pretty good chance of calming her down. He hadn't known, until Harry told him, who Hermione's dad was or why she didn't seem to know either. The young wolf stretched out beside her and laid an arm over her. He'd buttoned his vest only half way. She curled into his side as she traced the scars left from Sectumsepra. He hoped this meant she was finally starting to like him.

Harry smiled at the hopeful look in the wolf's eyes. He could have told him that Hermione had been falling, slowly but surely, for him ever since they captured them. But why let that particular cat out of the bag when he could sit back and watch the two of them duke it out between them? 'Hey, a boy had to find his entertainment somewhere!' Watching these two fight was the most fun he'd had in a while. He wondered how soon the wolf would dare bring up the 'flaming chicken' again. That seemed to have set Hermione off quite nicely the last time. He'd never seen her attempt to brain someone with a huge branch before!

Downstairs, Draco had made his way into the house and sought out his father. "What did you do, Draco, to make Miss Granger WANT to punch you in the nose?"

"I, uh, I called her a, uh, mudblood?" Draco stared at his feet.

"Well, now is as good a time to tell him, right Tom?" Lucius said, confusing Draco. 'Who was Tom, why was father looking at Lord Voldemort like that?' he looked between the two men.

"Miss Granger isn't actually a Muggleborn, Draco, but she's not a half-blood, either. Her mother is indeed a Muggle but her father is, in fact, a half-blood wizard. More to the point, he's in this very room. Draco, meet Hermione's father, Tom Marvolo Riddle." They all watched in amusement as Draco went deathly pale at the realization of her parentage.

"I, I'm so sorry, sir! I, I didn't realize! It, it won't happen again!" Draco stuttered with fear.

"See that it doesn't, young Draco. I'm not sure how much more damage your poor nose can endure. I'm told my daughter has quite an impressive right hook!" Tom chuckled.

Upstairs, Hermione sat up. "I need to do this, I need to get to know him, the longer I put it off, the harder it'll be to get to know him. If I put it off too long, he'll take it as a rejection, won't he, Harry?" Harry nodded silently. "Damnit, I can do this! I'm not a coward! I'm a Gryffindor!" with that she stood up, offered her hands to both boys and started downstairs.

Once outside his office, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She opened them and knocked on the door. It opened to reveal Lucius who raised an eyebrow at her. She lifted her chin and nodded. He pulled the door wide open. She stepped inside to see Lord Voldemort standing straight and tall in front of his desk. Lucius offered his arm and led her over. "Miss Hermione, I would like to introduce you to Lord Voldemort, otherwise known as Tom Marvolo Riddle. Tom, this is your daughter, Hermione Granger." Tom waved his wand over himself and the Lord Voldemort persona wavered and disappeared. Hermione gasped as she finally saw what her mother had meant. 'You got your beautiful riotous curls from me but everything else is all him.' They stared at each other in silence for a full five minutes, then with a muffled sob, she threw herself into his arms.


	10. After the secret is out

After the secret is out.

Hermione and Tom work on the treaty. Tom reassures Hermione.

Hermione couldn't believe it. She suddenly had a father again. Granted he was dangerous, scary and unpredictable but, hey, he was here and that was all that counted, right? It was hard to believe that the Dark Lord himself was her father but she looked entirely too much like him plus she had the letter from her mother.

She pushed away from him, just enough to look up at him. "I'm sorry. I was rude to you earlier. I read the letter and just jumped to conclusions. I didn't stop to think about any repercussions. You, you WOULD have been there if it had been possible, right?"

"Yes, if it had been possible, I would have been there. Had I known about you, I'd have done my level BEST to bring you and your mother back with me. Everyone would know that you were my child. You would have grown up already knowing about your magical abilities. You would not have encountered all the resistance you've had to fight against." He cupped her chin tenderly.

Hermione smiled. "It wasn't too bad. It made me tough. It made me brave enough to go toe to toe with Malfoy! I punched him in the nose! He was making fun of Hagrid!"

Tom laughed. "He was? Well, then he deserved a punch in the nose, didn't he?" he was glad to see she wasn't still upset. Not that he blamed her. The news she had been hit with would have shocked anyone. She was reacting much more calmly than he deserved, really.

After all, it was his own fault that he hadn't been there. He'd been so stupid, reacting so strongly to a mere prophecy! Had he not gone to try and kill another child, he never would have almost died. He would still have a political career. He would have been there to get the letter. He would have known about her much sooner than this. He could have brought her and her mother to his world and they could have been a family. He felt a flutter of hope. Maybe, just maybe that might still be possible but first he had to SHOW her that he wanted to be there. That he wanted to be a father. That he wanted to love her. Then, only then, would she trust him enough to bring her mother back.

"Well, we have a treaty to work on, don't we?" Hermione changed topics, not ready to talk about family matters yet. She needed to think about this in private before she opened herself up to the possibilities of this news.

Tom nodded. It didn't matter that she wasn't willing to talk to him yet. It was enough that she knew who he was now. He was willing to let her take all the time she needed to work through this. After all, they had all the time in the world now.

They sat down side by side as they unrolled the parchment. She summoned a blank piece for taking notes or marking down changes made to the initial draft. "All right. The amnesty clause should be the easiest one to push through. That should actually cover the Snatchers as well, shouldn't it, as they weren't really bringing in prisoners?" Hermione asked making a few notes on her blank parchment.

"It should. Yaxley, that amnesty, it should extend to the Snatchers, right, since they weren't technically taking in prisoners? Also none of them bear the Dark Mark. That should help as well." Tom told her. She added a note to her page.

Yaxley pulled up a seat facing them. "It should. It really depends on who we get in there to replace Scrimgeour. Fudge would just let them be tossed into Azkaban, no trail, nothing. If it comes right down to it, I nominate Kingsley Shacklebolt for the job. He's one of the few who would do an excellent job."

"I actually second that nomination." Hermione said. "Plus he's an Order member. If we can get him and Remus in here, that will add strength to our cause. They are both fair and impartial. They both had their suspicions about the Ministry AND Dumbledore. Neither of them were happy about Dumbledore sending Harry off on his own, with just Ron and myself."

At that reminder, Tom looked at her. "Why DID he send the three of you off?"

Hermione bit her lip before she answered. "He didn't. It was more like he told Harry part of what he 'needed' to do. But he didn't want him telling anyone WHERE he was going or WHAT he was doing. Ron and l flat out TOLD Harry he wasn't leaving us behind!"

Tom was smiling. His daughter was a true Gryffindor! She refused to let Harry set out on a dangerous mission alone! "Well, I'm glad that Harry has such a loyal friend." He looked at Harry to see the boy smiling proudly at Hermione.

"All right. Next item. Prison sentences. Some of our group have already served a portion of their sentences. Maybe a reduced sentence to finish out their punishments? Others, including myself, have yet to serve any kind of sentence." At this item, Hermione jerked back and looked at him.

"You? But why? Why are you including yourself?" she had a white knuckle grip on her quill. He sighed heavily. He'd known she might possibly balk at this clause.

"Hermione, sweetheart, I did kill two people. I haven't forgotten that. I know you haven't. I can almost guarantee Mr. Potter hasn't forgotten. I did the crime, dear, I have to do the time. It's not fair to tell them they have to go to prison or return to prison and keep myself out, scot-free. That's why I wanted to have you helping to decide the prison sentences. Besides, I'll need someone to care for Nagini while I'm serving my sentence. Who better to care for her than sister?" Tom reached out and tucked a few strands of hair back from her face. At her name, Nagini slithered around and curled herself up around both Tom and Hermione's feet. Hermione realized he really was trying. He knew he'd done wrong and he was willing to accept his punishment.

"Ok. First I'll need to do some research on this one. The actual crimes they were charged with and the actual sentences they were given. How much time was served etc." Hermione earmarked that clause and wrote several notes to herself. Several of the Death Eaters who had been broken out of Azkaban breathed out sighs of relief. They knew she would make sure they were treated fairly this time.

She had no problem with declaring the Death Eaters a political group now. As predicted, she was very interested in some of the platforms they had introduced. She was definitely interested in getting magical classes or schools set up for dealing with accidental magic in children too young to attend Hogwarts yet. She also wanted classes set up for their non-magical parents. She knew both she and Harry would have benefitted from such a class. She was also interested in making sure magical children in non-magical families weren't abused. She reached down and gave Nagini scratchies as she fine-tuned some of her notes.

By this time, most of the room had emptied out as the various residents went their various ways. Harry and Scabior were absently tossing a Quaffle back and forth across the room as they waited for Hermione. She laid her quill down and looked at Tom. "If you hadn't gone to Godric's Hollow all those years ago, you wouldn't have almost died. You would have been around, alive and well, and active in politics, wouldn't you?"

"Yes, I would have been a politician all these years." Tom wondered where this conversation was going.

"You would have received my mother's note, soon after I sent it. You seriously, no lie, would have come back for us?" she looked him right in the eye.

"No lie, Hermione. I would have either brought the both of you back with me or I would have stayed in the Muggle world with you. Either way, you would have grown up, knowing me. I wouldn't have left the two of you to suffer for anything in the world. Had I known your mother had conceived, there's not a thing in the world- not even her stubborn temperament- that would have stopped me from bringing her back then." Tom laid his arm across Hermione's shoulders and squeezed gently. They stayed like that for a few minutes, then Tom stood up, pulling Hermione with him.

"It's almost lunchtime, dear, shall we go eat? We can pick back up this afternoon or tomorrow. You can have some time with your friends, all right?" Hermione smiled and nodded. She bent down and kissed Nagini, telling her she loved her. The large serpent quickly reclaimed her sunspot. One hug later, she was finally ready to release Tom. They walked out of the office arm in arm and went their separate ways. Harry and Scabior sat down on the steps as Hermione went to change for lunch.


End file.
